


C O N S T E L L A T I O N S

by otakme



Series: Glaxia Quantrinium [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU where loki gets exhiled after The Battle of New York, Background Character Death, Clint is stupid, Crying because loki is actually a broken man who needs gratification from others to feel fulfilled, F/M, Frigga is a sweetheart, Hopefully Valentina isnt a mary sue, Hugs everything, I tried rly hard u guys, I will raise my bar to be higher i promise, Loki Feels, Loki Needs a Hug, Loki deserves a smooch, Loki gets thrown to earth, Loki is a sweetheart but tsudere af, Loki is an angry bean, Loki is still violent tho, Loki is vulnerable, Looking after loki, Looking after loki fanfic, Magic, Natasha is badass as per fuckin norm, No Main Character Death, No more shitty fanfics, Non Canonical Immortal, Odin is okay somewhat, Poor Loki, RIP, Seidr, Slow Burn, Slow Updates, Stargazing, Stong female, Thor is a puppy, Tony Is Okay, coarse language, i have a preplanned plot for once in my life, magic ofc, magical female lead, magick, non canonical magic, non canonical species, strong female lead, very slow burn, yet he is so inherently much better than so many that it actually breaks my jeart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2018-12-14 21:39:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 29,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11791986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/otakme/pseuds/otakme
Summary: Exiled from Asgard, and stripped of his magic, Loki finds himself landed on Midgard. Cast from his home, and thrust into a world he once attempted to conquer, his bitterness is more than aggravated. Loki is furious, and yet as his anger is uncontained and wild, he finds himself vulnerably laid into the palms of these mortals that he sees as so inferior.The mortal that finds him, though, is much more intriguing (and less... Well, mortal) than he thought Midgardians to be.Enter Valentina Rossiére, a woman with fire that could sear into your soul burning in her eyes and a tongue quick as a whip. Whilst at first she seems to be simply a strangely behaving midguardian, she somehow manages to break through to Loki's broken mind, and find a part of himself he had thought had been long destroyed. With a bit more than a reluctant mind, and an empty heart, Loki finds himself not only forced into submission into the mundane lifestyle of a human being, but into an unsuspected whirlwind of emotions that he never knew existed.(IM BACK BITCHES AND I AM ALIVE, KICKING, AND READY TO PUNCH SOME MOTHERFUCKING LOKI FEELS IN THE FACE, BECAUSE MY BODY HAS BEEN STARVED FOR THIS SWEET BOY ALL YEAR LONG)





	1. Andromeda

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings fellow homosapiens, it is I, the becstinator.  
> I have concocted a devious plan to take over my life with fanfiction! Hopefully, I won't die and fall from the face of the Earth, never to update again! This is my first fic on AO3, so hopefully a new start on a new site means a new mindset for a new fanfic.  
> I'm also approaching a different type of fanfic from usual, which I usually do "falling into the universe" or "super overpowered or knowledgeable character finds handsome man ooh look" and end up updating like three chapters then giving up. But my Loki phase seems to actually be lasting hecka long time, so hopefully this can fuel me to continue on with my plan for this fic! >8-D  
> Anywho! Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction to the story; Introducing the main character.

Cold.  


It encompassed her entire being.  


Her muscles grew frigid and her bones grew tight. She grit her teeth in frustration.  


Her toes were going from white to grey by now, and her eyebrows knitted together in irritation.  


"Fuck this!" She threw her hands in the air, hurling herself off the couch and paced to the thermostat, turning on the heater, her fingers twitching from being suddenly moved, "I'm just gonna have to call him, I can't go without heating for this long!" Her lips were slowly regaining colour as the heaters blasted, and her teeth gnawed at the cracked skin in the left corner of her bottom lip.  


Her silver eyes darted across the room to her black snake, Baphomet, that was happily lazing under the lamp, and she grumbled under her breath at him, "Lucky bastard, getting a constant heater and not needing to worry about electricity bills." 

His head tilted a tad towards her, and he seemed to smirk impishly at her. She rolled her eyes, heading towards the kitchen and pulling out a mug. 

It was getting into the colder months now, and it was slowly approaching the one year anniversary of 'The Battle of New York' or "The Time Iron Man Saved The Day By Shoving A Nuke Into A Giant Glowing Asshole Of Death" as Tony Stark so pompously preferred. The electricity bills would be going up for Valentina these next few months. As much as she loved the winter, Valentina wholeheartedly loathed the expenses that came with it. More food, more electricity. It was exhausting. 

You would think that after living for so long, she would have accumulated a fair stash of money, and she had, but it was scattered all over the globe. She didn't want any suspicious links to her bills and life being up for grabs by any pesky organisations. 

Valentina still had to work to keep her living expenses manageable, as she wasn't exactly living in a hovel. Her 'humble' abode was located miles away from the closest store, buried within the forest of pine trees and high-reaching birch trees. 

It was a large brown and green house, similar to that of a cottage, but much larger. It had two floors, the first floor containing the entrance, the kitchen, the loungeroom and the office, and the second floor containing the master bedroom, spare bedroom, bathroom and library. Although there was a main room dedicated to books, the winding staircase that spiralled up from the first floor to the library area was walled with bookshelves too. 

Most rooms withheld at least one bookshelf (minus the bathroom), the kitchen with cookbooks and whatnot, the loungeroom with Valentina's favourite series, the office with lots of technology, science, and mathematical textbooks, the staircase with historical and fantasy, her bedroom with 'currently reading' books, more of her favourite series, and her oldest, most precious books, the spare bedroom with the 'classics' with Shakespeare, Edgar Ellen Poe, J.R.R. Tolkien, George Orwell, F. Scott Fitzgerald etc. In the loungeroom was a large flatscreen above the fireplace, Valentina's collection of movies on either side of the fireplace in drawers, above the drawers short bookshelves, and above the bookshelves hung a collection of animal skulls that she had scavenged in her walks through the forest. 

The skulls were a constant reminder of how she must live her life; cherish the lives around you, and never let their memories fade.  


Her snake, Baphomet, a beautiful black water moccasin Cottonmouth, was in a large tank behind the couches, lazing his life away like a no-good freeloader. 

Valentina loved Baphomet, she had found him half-dead on the side of the road, attacked by some disgusting men with a shovel. She managed to stop the men from murdering the poor reptile, but he was still badly injured. One of his eyes was gouged out, and he had plenty of broken ribs. Valentina had been in tears as she commenced surgery on the poor creature, her tears mixed with the blood stained on her hands. She stayed away from town for a while after that, as she couldn't stand to face anyone after seeing such a horrid sight.  


Nobody really cared about Valentina, save for the old man Strickler, who had been quite close to her in his younger years. He stopped seeing her as often once he had met his wife and gotten married, though. Valentina still liked to visit him every once in a while, just to make sure he was still doing well. He always said that she was a sight to behold every time she visited, with her 5'8, petite stature, heart-shaped face, full, cupid's-bow-less, rosy lips, porcelain skin, silver eyes and long, silver hair. 

She really did stand out. 

It was back when she first started approaching the years of 80 that her hair started turning grey, along with the hair of her friends around her. It seemed to stay that way for the rest of her years. The rest of her years being the last 358 years, of course.  


The young skin certainly did look strange with the naturally silver hair, but lately it had become less questioned, due to hair dyeing becoming a more popular beauty fad.  


Her frame never seemed to change, always lean, but toned, petite yet firm, pale and never-changing. She was an anomaly amongst men, and had been for the most part of her life. She had long accepted this fact, and worked her lifestyle around it, preventing as much heartbreak as possible; getting close, but not too close, making friends, but never having attachments. She cherished the lives of others, but had accepted that the light would eventually fade from their eyes and leave her alone once more. 

Alone, always alone.  


Her life had become a haze of standing on the sidelines, watching people's lives streak past her in a daze of overflowing emotions, filling as much emotion as possible into each moment, cherishing each second before their inevitable cease of existence. She watched as empires rose and fell, people came to power, were overthrown, then spoken about as if they were partial fantasy, when she had met those people when they were children, or traded goods and services with their mothers.  


She was an anomaly among men, an anomaly that was barely teetering on the line of existence and living.  


She was alone.


	2. Antlia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saying 'helo' to Loki, who feels like he's been thrown through a blender.

_**A RESOUNDING BOOM** cascaded through the forest, the sound bouncing off the trees, forest floor and into the sky._ There was a 'CRACK', and a tree fell, then another, and another. Soon enough, from the cloud of debree, a deep, guttural groan gritted out. It echoed amongst the leaves that swayed so gently in the breeze.

The creatures of the forest were silent, watching, waiting for something more to happen, the aura that hung in the air prickling at their senses and sending their minds on high alert. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. There was a splinter in the serene atmosphere that the forest so willingly provided, and the forest-inhabitants were unhappy.

But this went unnoticed by the groaning mass at the centre of it all, the pain that wracked his lean frame overpowering his senses making him unable to take notice of anything other than his lack of control of his body. It was almost as bad as the incident with The Hulk, he thought, almost.

Somehow, despite the mind-shatteringly large amount of pain he was experiencing, he managed to pull himself up into a sitting position, his weight leaning on the balls of his hands, the sudden shift in gravity sending his head spinning wildly.

He groaned once more, furrowing his eyebrows together, and scrunching his eyes closed more, a feeble attempt at quelling the dizziness that threw his body into a state of confusion.

After a few moments of waiting for the dizziness to settle, he cracked his eyes open, the dim light of the sunset streaming in rays through the cracks between the high-reaching trees, creating a soft glow that warmed him somewhat. If he hadn't just been thrusted and churned through a barely-stable wormhole-based portal, then he would have maybe found some sense of peace or tranquillity in this environment, he thought bitterly to himself. That was beside the point, though, as he needed to figure out just where he was, and that entailed standing up and moving his body. He groaned at the thought of it, and sat for a moment, just listening to the sound of the wind rustling the leaves of the deciduous trees, the chill calming his pain somewhat.

After around five minutes he finally mustered up the courage to attempt to get to his feet, and attempted in doing so. Pain still wracked his body, but he grit his teeth and ignored it the best he could, holding his left side, which seemed to be the most scrambled from the bumpy ride down.

He took a few deep breaths, then stepped forth with his left foot, a grunt escaping him, before following up with his right foot, a screaming pain tearing up his leg, making him stumble a tad.

Narrowing his eyes, he continued, evening out his breath, the only thing keeping him going being the thought of warm food and fresh water. His body could take the cold, but nourishment was a must, so his daydreams and fantasies of lavish buffets of glistening, glimmering food fit for kings was the main source of motivation, his eyes set steely-ly on the horizon afoot.

As the sun lowered, his energy levels depleted, and his breathing became more ragged, food no longer providing as much of a motivator as he had wished, his thoughts drifting to the amount of cracks his knee and hip joints in his right leg were making as he limped forward, to an undisclosed destination.

The temperature lowered as the sun did, and his eyes drooped as the night sky was veiled in a glittering sheet of stars. The Milky Way galaxy was on display beautifully this night, and the creatures of the night soon came out to play, a symphony of quiet sounds surrounding the limping man, acting as a lullaby to his tired mind.

Resistance was futile as he laid down for a short rest, 'Just a few moments, and I'll be off again.' were the thoughts that lingered in his mind as he slid his eyes closed, resting against the base of a thick pine tree, the sounds of the night lulling him into a deep sleep.

So deep, that he did not wake at the sound of feet crunching against the path to his right, or the shift of his body into a set of petite arms.

His subconscious seemingly took note of his situation, though, as his dreams were filled with the sweet smells of rose-scented perfume and sharpness of the strawberry-scented shampoo that was attributed to the personage that carried him through the forest.

He slept soundly, one of the first times he has done so in years.

But he was not prepared for what would wake him. 


	3. Apus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valentina is like 'what'

_**VALENTINA’S HANDS RUBBED** against eachother absentmindedly in an attempt to create some heat from the friction between them, but the temperature of the pearly skin proved it to be an impossible feat._ Her tongue darted across her lips to wet them as she walked along the forest path, her boots crunching on the rocky dirt beneath her soles.

Her form was draped in a large black sweater, woven with a mixture of wool and cotton. It dwarfed her petite frame as she wound her way around the stray roots that made the path uneven and hilly. Valentina hummed a soft tune beneath her breath, one long forgotten to the modern mind, but very much present in hers. It was a song that her surrogate mother used to sing to her when they sat beneath the stars, pointing out the constellations that glimmered in the sky like beacons of fantasy.

Valentina always walked to stargaze in Autumn. The stars seemed to become brighter as the days grew colder, and she loved to sit beneath them, gazing up at them and getting lost in her memories.

A pure white Barn Owl swooped from overhead, landing on her arm that she had presented when she had gotten a glimpse of it’s glistening feathers. It’s claws dug into her arm, but did not break the skin, Valentina could barely feel it, in fact. She smiled as it hooted loudly in her face, before bringing it closer, and allowing it to rub it’s face against her neck in a ‘hello’ of sorts. Her velvet voice rumbled in her chest, “Hello, Kashmir.” The owl pulled away and hooted again, flying off her arm and landing on a branch on a tree a few metres ahead of her.

Valentina seemed to have an affinity for saving the lives of the vulnerable, as Kashmir had also been injured when she had found him; tangled in a net, with a hook puncturing his left claw. He had taken to her when she had nursed him back to health, and often accompanied her in her stargazing sessions. He was a welcome accompaniment on the nights that chilled her to the core.

She smiled, then tilted her head as he hooted loudly again, jumping onto a branch further away. “Do you want me to follow you?” She asked, knowing that he wouldn’t reply, but approached him nonetheless, making him fly from branch to branch, further and further off her path to the clearing where she would usually stargaze.

She laughed as Kashmir seemed to become even more impatient, landing on her shoulder and latching onto her sweater, flying forward in an attempt to drag her forward. Abiding to his will, Valentina fastened her pace to a jog, allowing Kashmir to unlatch from her sweater and fly to just off the path, veering in his direction suddenly.

Valentina halted in her jog, and walked curiously towards Kashmir, pushing the brambles away so that she could see what he was hopping around.  
Her eyebrows shot up as she drank in the sight before her. A man, with a face that seemed ageless -young, yet old in a way- was propped against the base of a tree, his left arm clutching his side, seemingly in pain. His breaths were short and ragged, each drag in seemingly shuddering his lean frame in agony as he slept. Valentina placed her fingertips on his wrist, surprised at the freezing temperature of his skin. He needed medical attention -that much was obvious- but he needed to be warmed more urgently.

So, without a second thought, Valentina squatted, sliding her hands under his knees and behind the small of his back, and lifted him from the ground. He was surprisingly heavy, completely contradictory to his seemingly thin frame. She carried him effortlessly, regardless, and nodded her head at Kashmir in thanks, who hooted loudly and flew off.

Glancing down every so often at the relaxed features of the man in her arms, she felt an unsettling feeling swell at the base of her stomach. This man didn’t seem normal, and her senses were screaming at her to simply drop him and dash to safety, but she refused to give in to her petty reaction, as he was vulnerable, as she couldn’t simply let him die.

She would be drowned in guilt, and self-remorse if she did.

So she carried him 3 miles to her home, and once reaching it, laid him on her couch, gazing down at him, wondering what the next best course of action was.


	4. Aquarius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki says 'hi' and 'ouch' and 'wtf'

_**THE SOUND OF RAIN** was echoing throughout the house, the pleasant scent of wet pine needles staining the corridors._

Large droplets of water cascaded down the windows in glimmering streaks of grey, reflecting the light and casting shadows on the furniture within the forest cottage. In the fireplace dancing orange flames sat, eating away at the chunks of dead wood, warming the room considerably, and casting a yellow hue on the man who laid asleep on the couch.

Green eyes not unlike emeralds cracked open sleepily, the cause of such a stir being a loud POP from the embers that danced with the flames within the fireplace. A short, shuddering breath outwards drew the man’s mind to wake, his chest aching with the exhalation of air. His emerald green eyes suddenly shot widely open, darting around to gaze at the room in alarm. This was not a familiar sight at all, and he does not remember ever moving from his place by the tree. He cursed in his mind. He had fallen asleep at the base of the tree.

If that was so, then where the Hel was he? Attempting to sit up, his body screamed in protest, pain lining every fibre of his being. He hell back on his elbows, his shoulders creaking in agony.

“Ah, I see Mr. I Fall Asleep In The Middle Of The Night, Outside In The Freezing Cold has awoken. Did you sleep well?”

The velvety voice caused the man to snap his head to face the source of the sound, a shrieking pain tearing up his neck, to the centre of his head. His eyes slammed closed, preventing any tears from escaping his eyes, and the person that the voice belonged to walked into his line of sight, looking down on his pain stricken face. Her facial features contorted into an expression of concern, her eyebrows knitting together and rising on her forehead.

The man’s eyes cracked open after a moment of deep breathing, and he surveyed the woman that was standing in front of him’s features. Her skin was a pale, almost grey colour, the exceptions being her rosy lips and pink fingertips. She was donned in loose-fitting garments, the knitted wear hanging from her petite frame, and losing her form. She was wearing tight-fitted black pants, and was barefoot. Her toes were tinged the same pink as her fingertips. Her eyes were a startling silver, framed by thick, dark lashes. Her hair contradicted her visible age, surprisingly grey in value, with a silver sheen that reflected in the light. It was tied up into a messy bun at the top of her head, locks falling out here and there.

The man’s emerald eyes narrowed, “Where am I?”, completely ignoring the question that the woman had posed to him. The pale woman’s face relaxed, and fell into a deadpan. Leaning back onto her left foot -some hair falling out of the bun- and crossing her arms, the woman licked her lips, “My loungeroom.” The man growled, “Which _realm?_ ” He spat out, gritting his teeth and flexing his jaw in irritation, his eyebrows knitting together frustratedly. The woman’s head cocked to the side slightly, the light streaming in from the window catching her silver irises, giving them a glowing look, her face softening slightly in curiosity. His eyes scanned her pale skin for a moment, then flashed back to her eyes, growling under his breath when she didn’t reply immediately, “TELL ME!”

The woman’s lips contorted into a tiny smirk, “Tonantzin, Pachamama, Hou Tu, Erda, Terra Mater, Bhuma, Dìqiú, jörðin, υφήλιος, Talamh, Miðgarðr, Earth.” She twitched her fingers on her arm in a wave formation, her face twitching in amusement, “Although I may verbalise many more forms for it if you so wish.”

The man’s face dropped into a slightly dumbfounded, slightly horrified expression, his eyes widened, face slack, “ _Miðgarðr._ ” He breathed out in astonishment, his eyes glazing over, no longer looking at the woman standing in front of him, “ _Miðgarðr_ of all places.” His mind wandered to his last time on Miðgarðr, and how terribly it had affected him for the future to come. Breaking from his straying thoughts, he looked back at the woman who stood above him, and hissed, “Why are you smiling, mortal?”

The woman’s smirk twitched a tad higher, and her eyelids drooped in amusement, “ _Miðgarðr,_ eh? It’s not often that you meet someone more familiar with the term than Earth.” The woman leaned forward, leering over the man slightly intimidatingly, making him visibly tense, “Which realm are _you_ from, _sir_?”

The man’s slightly frizzy hair shifted as she breathed the last word over his face heavily. His eyes narrowed in anger, blazing in fury.

How dare this puny mortal stand above him with such a smug expression?! Trust, she did not know of his identity or social standing, and his body was in such a vulnerable state, but did she not at least feel a little bit intimidated by his tone of voice?

He calmed himself, he would not be angered by her. He was better than to disrespect a woman in such a way, even if she was but a mere mortal.

Calming his heart rate, and softening his features, he tilted his chin up, looking down his nose at her in an authoritative way, “I am Loki of Asgarðr, and you will respect me, mortal woman."

The woman's eyebrows slowly lifted on her forehead, and she stepped away, her facial features contorting into a visage of surprise.

After a few moments of her scanning him up and down, she met his eyes again, her head tilting slightly to the left, “…Then that would make you a god, would it not?” A narcissistic smirk lilted onto his lips, “Indeed, mortal. I am a God. So, therefore, I am of higher status than you, and you must bend to my will.” His face slightly mirrored the glee that bubbled within his chest. Yes! He would finally be able to be of higher social status-

His thoughts were cut off by the woman staring at him with a disinterested expression, “In _Asgarðr_ you may have been classified as a Prince, but be reminded of where you are currently resting. _I_ am the owner and ruler of this estate, and if you think that you hold _any_ authority _what so ever_ whilst housing here, you are going to be sorely disappointed.”

The green eyes of the man narrowed in contempt, returning his irritated sneer to his features, “Now listen _here_ , mortal woman-” But the woman cut his impending speech off, “No, _you_ listen _here, your highness._ I am the one who brought you to safety. I am the one who provided you with a dry, warm residence. I am the one who protected you, the person who attempted to steal the world to rule no more than a year ago, from TWO packs of wolves that so easily could have torn you apart whilst you were asleep against that tree,” The man’s face contorted into a slightly confused expression, but the woman continued, “So I do believe that you owe me at least some respect, because if I had not carried you back here, then you would either be dead, or worse. Now, are you hungry?"

Her tone did not shift from scolding, which made Loki have to do a double take. Stammering slightly he replied, taken off guard by her sudden change of conversation topic, "U-uh, yes. I am famished."  
The woman nodded sharply, then turned and walked to the kitchen, "Good," she called from the room connected to the lounge, "Because I was just in the middle of making a double batch of pancakes."

Quiet sizzling could be heard from the kitchen, and now that his other senses had been awoken, he could smell the delicious waft of frying batter that emanated from the kitchen. His stomach gurgled loudly in enthusiasm to the mouthwatering scent off the sweet breakfast food, and his eyes closed in reply to the pain that ached from his stomach.

A few minutes later, the woman’s figure approached him with a tray of food. A white plate sat in the centre, a pile of five pancakes on it. Beside the pancakes were a set of shiny silver cutlery, and along them laid three small cups of what looked to be different fruit juices.

On the left were eight small bowls of various toppings, the contents of each bowl being: Butter, Lemon juice, Nutella, Sliced strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, raspberry jam, maple syrup, and a scoop of icecream.

The woman placed the tray down on the coffee table in the centre of the room, and approached the man, bending over and moving to slip a hand behind his back. Loki’s body tensed up, and he hissed, swatting her hand away, “What do you think you’re doing!?” His voice raised into a yell, causing her to roll her eyes at his dramatics.

She licked her lips subconsciously, “I’m helping you sit up.” His eyes narrowed into a sneer, “I can sit up by myself, woman.” Said woman’s face fell slack, completely disbelieving his statement, “Please. Spare me your lies, Loki. Your pain is more than debilitating. You are barely able to lay as you are without breathing causing you pain.” His eyebrows twitched at her knowing what she did, and she continued, “Let me help you.”

He begrudgingly obliged to her wishes, and allowed her to slip her arm behind his back, her fingertips dancing lightly across his side, causing unsettling goosebumps to raise on his flesh underneath the shirt. Hoisting him up softly, yet swiftly, a surprisingly easy task for her thin arms to achieve.

His torso became straight as he groaned softly at the movement, his legs bending to accommodate for his position unhappily. Once Loki was in a satisfactory position, the woman slid her arm out from behind him, and walked back over to the tray on the coffee table, picking it up carefully, as to not spill any of the liquids, and brought it over the main sitting on the couch. She bent over evenly, softly kneeling, laying the tray on the lap of the man.

Pointing to each of the toppings she explained, “Each of these go on top of the pancakes. Those,” She pointed to the juices, “Are fruit juices. Tell me if you want more of them, because I have three large jugs of them in the fridge.” She then stood up, and smiled softly, “Hopefully this quells the pain in your stomach.”

The black-haired man nodded his head shortly, not really knowing what to say in reply.


	5. Aquila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki noms

_**THE WOMAN MOVED**_ _out of his field of view, into the kitchen to work on her own pancakes._

Loki picked up his knife and fork hesitantly, his fingers twitching slightly at the aching of his joints. Once he had lifted a piece to sniff, his stomach screamed at him to just eat it. He placed it into his mouth hesitantly, doubtful that any poison a mortal could conjure would be strong enough to kill him- a god.

As soon as the fluffy pastry hit his tongue he devoured the first one within seconds, completely forgetting about the toppings. He had realised this when his mouth was increasingly dry after finishing the first pancake, and spread lemon juice over his second pancake, drizzling maple syrup over the top and cutting it up, downing some of the yellow juice to his right. It had a rounded sweet and tangy taste, which he found to be pleasant, as it melded well with the tastes of the maple syrup. He downed the second juice, being orange in colour and opaque. It was bitter and sweet altogether. It tasted citrusy. He liked this also, as the juice calmed the sweetness of the pancake. Loki finally downed the last one, being a translucent brown juice that’s visage reminded him of the ale back on Asgarðr. He licked his lips. It was a rounded, sweet juice. Too sweet, almost, as it brought out the sweetness of his meal much more than the other two. Suddenly, his wolfing down of the meal was halted in motion by the bubbling sound of a quiet chuckle from behind him.

The woman walked into view with a pancake with various toppings on, on a plate in her hands. It was rolled up, so the green-eyed man could not see what exactly the toppings were. “Is it good?” She hummed whilst sitting down in her plush armchair.

Loki cleared his throat in slight embarrassment at being seen in such a manner, “Yes. I particularly like the orange juice. What is it called?” The woman licked her lips, then smiled, “Orange juice.” Loki rolled his eyes, “Yes, I know, but what is it-” He halted in his speech to process what she had said completely, “… It’s called _orange juice?_ ” The woman chuckled, “Yes. The fruit it is derived from is called an ‘Orange’.”

Loki’s face was blank for moment, then he sighed in disbelief, “That is possibly the most uncreative name for a fruit I have ever come across.” The woman bobbed her head in a nod, licking her lips and containing a grin to a smirk, her eyes lighting up in amusement, “Indeed. It is not one of humanity's finer achievements. And you won't believe what colour the peel of an 'Orange' is!" Loki quirked his eyebrow, "Let me guess... Orange?" The woman let out a quiet laugh, "Dingdingding! We have a winner! The prize for getting the answer correct is more juice!" The woman stood up, dusting off her knees, "Would you like to claim said juice?" The man nodded, his lips quirking tinily in amusement at her odd antics, "Yes, Orange juice, please." The woman chuckled, and walked into the kitchen, "Coming right up! Are you enjoying your pancakes toppings?" The green-eyed fellow hummed in affirmative, "Yes, although I have yet to taste the brown paste, the clear red jam, the cold white cream ball, and the berries."

The woman held back her snickers at his strange visual explanations, pulling the door of the fridge open and getting out the large clear glass jug of opaque, orange liquid. Grabbing out a glass and holding it up, she poured the orange liquid into it, not allowing a droplet to spill.

She put the jug away and brought the glass over to the man on her couch, feet padding on the dark brown-almost black- wooden floors as she approached. She hummed out, "You should try the brown paste with the berries. Here," She placed the glass of orange juice on the right of his tray, "Let me show you."

Loki leaned away from her body as she leaned over, her fingertips brushing his hand as she softly pulled the knife from his grasp, causing him to snap his hand away from the contact, unpleasant goosebumps and a bolt of uncomfortable electricity shooting up his spine.

The woman seemed to either not notice his discomfort, or ignore it, as she did not falter in expression or actions, allowing herself to continue on with preparing her favourite type of pancake topping.

  
Loki felt somewhat grateful that she didn't comment on his obvious drawback, as he would have either been embarrassingly forced to explain his discomfort towards physical contact, or he would have lost his temper and destroyed whatever was holding the woman back from throwing him from her living quarters.

  
The silver-eyed woman scooped some of the brown paste onto the knife, then spread it over the sweet breakfast pastry, a thick, even coat covering the brown food. She laid the knife down and picked some pieces of the pink chopped fruit from the bowl, placing them in a pyramid-like formation on the dark brown layer. Finally, she grabbed the knife again and scooped some of the frozen white cream ball onto the pancake, finally rolling it up with her nimble fingers and folding the bottom end, ensuring that none of the toppings escaped.

  
She smiled down at Loki, her face lighting up considerably, then held it out for him to grasp, "Try this. It's my favourite way to eat pancakes." Hesitantly, scanning her face for anything at all, he softly pulled the pastry from her hands, making her let out a quiet, "Careful!" as his pinky finger almost let the bottom unfold. He righted his fingering and raised it to his mouth, biting into it and looking back up at her eagerly awaiting face.  
He chewed slowly, making the woman tense up in expectancy, "...Well?" She asked, scanning him for a reaction.

  
He swallowed, then licked his lips, replying, "It is... Very good." A bright smile split the woman's face, taking Loki off-guard a tad, not expecting such an enthusiastic reply to his affirmations. She fell back onto her hands, completely forgetting about her own meal, her hair now falling completely out of the bun, framing her face in a beautiful waterfall of waves, "I'm glad it is so. Once you're finished I'll help you up and show you to your room."

He paused mid-bite, then pulled back, "...My...Room?" The woman chuckled, "Yes, your room. You most definitely aren't going to stay on my couch indefinitely, I need it. I have a spare bedroom upstairs that has a nice big bed for you to sleep on," She eyed his slightly-uncomfortable form, as he didn't fit very well on the couch as she'd originally thought, "And I'm sure a bed is much more preferable than that lumpy old thing." She pointed her chin at the couch he laid on, and he swallowed his mouthful of food, almost at the end of the pastries now, "...Indeed, a bed would be much preferred to this piece of furniture. I appreciate your hospitality, miss-...?"

  
Her face blanked for a moment, as if waiting for him to continue, then lit up in surprise, "-OH! I haven't introduced myself yet! Valentina Rossiére. I must apologise for my manners, I haven't had a guest in decades!" A light-hearted chuckle escaped her chest, bubbling in the air as her eyes twinkled slightly, her face tinging a subtle shade of pink in slight embarrassment.

  
A tinge of slight amusement crossed Loki's features, and he smiled a tight, brief smile for a moment, befors dropping his face back into the regular scowl. "...Thank you." He spoke after a moment of silence, and Valentina's silver eyes perked up in alert, "You are very welcome, Loki. Are you feeling well enough to walk?"

  
He licked the chocolate spread from his fingertips, pushing the tray further down his lap, "...Yes, I do believe so." He spoke, despite the fact that his pain had not let up in the slightest, and may have even gotten worse within the time he was awake, but he was too busy eating the scrumptious meal to notice the levels of pain fluctuating.

  
The silver-eyed woman's eyebrows twitched slightly in return to this reply, and a closed-mouth smile stretched across her lips. Her eyes softened slightly, and she pulled the tray from his lap, once again making him push himself into the couch to shy away from her touch. She once again, did not react. The sound of her bare feet squeaking across the floorboards gave Loki an idea of where she was located, the sound of water hitting the trough of the sink notifying him that she was rinsing his dishes.

  
A couple minutes later, Valentina walked back into the room, smiling slightly at the man on her couch, "Now," she stood next to him, "Let's show you to your room. Up you hop."

The man hesitated, then pulled himself forward, every fiber of his being screaming at him to stop, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.

The woman's eyes trailed after him, observing as he struggled with the tiniest of movements, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, "Why are you not healing yourself?" she spoke to him, midmovement. He halted in his tracks. Yes, why wasn't he just healing himself? His eyebrows furrowed, then he raised his hands to summon the energy that built around his form, but nothing happened.

His eyebrows furrowed even deeper, his eyes widening slightly in confusion as he attempted to summon his magic again, but alas, nothing came. Loki growled under his breath, he could feel the pent up energy thrumming in this atmosphere, and it was begging him to play, but something was holdjng him back. Something thin and cold was preventing him from reaching his magic, it's body wrapping itself around his mind and body, like a cool breeze on a hot spring's day.

His magic was right there!

  
He hissed out, a deep rumble reverberating in his chest, "I cannot reach my magic. It seems I have been cut off."

  
Valentina's eyebrows knitted together in disbelief, "...They cut you off?" Loki snarled out, "Yes. They cut me off, the ones who claim to be my family cut off the one thing that I find solace in, they cut me off. Do not make me repeat myself."

  
Her eyebrows furrowed even deeper, more in concern now that disbelief, "...Let's get you to the room. I'll bandage you up." She stepped forward, and slipped an arm around his back, making him tense up painfully and unpleasantly, her touch revolting him slightly, but he bit his tongue, holding it back from ruining any sort of civility that the two held toward eachother.

  
Loki leaned his weight on her form begrudgingly, limping as she slowly walked towards the stairs, dread filling him as he glared at the impending incline he would have to drag his body up. Once they reached the stairs the woman furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation, scanning his slightly tembling frame in thought. His green eyes glared down at her, and he hissed, “What?” Valentina darted her tongue across her lips, and gazed up into his eyes unwaveringly, “Your body isn’t going to be able to handle the stress of climbing the stairs. I will have to carry you." 

 


	6. Ara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Val looks at Loki's ouchies

_**LOKI'S FACE SCRUNCHED UP IN DISGUST** ,  “I am a God, you said so yourself, and my body is not as fragile as your tiny mortal body is. You wouldn’t even be able to handle my weigh-”_

His thought was cut off by the pale woman bending over and scooping him up into her arms ‘bridal style’ in a smooth, swift motion.

His eyes widened in shock, and the silver eyes of Valentina rolled in their sockets, her be parallel with the stairs, as to not smack his head or long limbs into the walls. Loki's jaw clenched to hold back his shock, not willing to withdraw his statement to readily, in fear of seeming inferior to the woman carrying him up the winding stairs.

Her footing was light as she ascended the staircase, and the silence that laced the air around the two was thick with tension. Loki's eyes scanned the bookshelves that lined the walls of the staircase, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion as to why she would own so many- mind you, he would not question owning this many books himself, per se, but it seemed that he wasn't of the norm when it came to studious tendencies.

Was she also perhaps an intellect?

Although, there was no way she could be on any level as his in terms of intellect, as her feeble mortal brain would only uphold a certain amount of elasticity for a pinprick amount of time in comparison to his hundreds of thousands of years.

His mind grew smug for a moment of the thought of him being of a higher intellectual and physical stature than her tiny, mortal self, but the feeling was sharply cut off by the woman shifting him in her arms to pull down the handle of the door to the spare bedroom.

He once again realised that he was, in fact, being carried by the 'feeble mortal', and that she had the upperhand in this situation, so he should hold his tongue in terms of snide comments for now.

  
The door to the spare bedroom opened silently, the hinges obviously upkept and oiled regularly, and Valentina walked towards the bed, slipping the large man from her petite arms in a smooth motion that almost seemed unnatural.

  
His body landed softly on the bed, but even such a feather-light landing caused his body to scream at him in pain. He winced subconsciously, instantaneously scolding himself for giving her the upperhand that he was still in pain.

Valentina's eyes softened considerably once she observed his reaction, but he was not in the position to observe her reaction back, as his pain had clouded his mind a tad, and he was absentmindedly observing the room.

He hummed appreciatively in his mind at the sight of a bookshelf lined with aplenty of literature at the far wall of the room.

  
The silver-haired woman's voice wound his mind up into a defensive coil, like a cat with it's hackles raised and tail stiffly flexed, he darted his eyes over to her, "I'll prepare some bandages for you, but you'll need to take off your shirt first." She furrowed her brows slightly in concern, her dark hairs contrasting with her almost pearlescent skin and emphasizing her features more, "Or should I take it off for you?"

  
Loki's eyes narrowed in irritation at her behaviour, and his subconscious hissed in contempt at the thought of her pink fingertips running across his flesh, and despite the fact that he knew it would be absolute Hel to take off his shirt himself, he grit his teeth, "I am fine in assisting myself."

The woman pursed her lips slightly, then nodded, relaxing her face and turning towards the door, walking to the frame and going to close it. Before she did so she spoke, "Well, once you're done, call out. I'll be ready with the bandages in a minute."She then allowed the door to click shut quietly, shrouding the room in silence, the soft patter of rain filling the air with a serene atmosphere, the creak of the floorboards beneath Valentina's weight being the only other sign that he was not alone in the house.

  
Loki closed his eyes softly, his head starting to throb slightly as a sign of an impending headache, and his lungs trembled slightly as he breathed, twitching unpleasantly every so often, giving him the sensation of the muscles popping around his ribcage.

  
Why had his so called 'family' bestowed this punishment upon him? He would have preferred to just rot in the corner of an Asgarðian cell for the rest of his days, with the other criminals that the dungeons hid so well.

Of course they wouldn't allow him that.

He was a monster, they made sure that _that_ much was obvious to him. They placed him within the realm that he had attempted to conquer, where he was treated as much less than a murderer, monster and psychopath.

He would be treated as less than dirt in the eyes of the ones that he saw as so inferior, and would never be able to lay his gaze upon the breathtaking moons of Asgarðr, or spend hours upon hours simply getting lost in the palace library that he named more of a bedroom than the room assigned as his quarters. He was going to be stepped on like an ant, and the entirety of the human race was the boot. 

A quiet knock sounded through the room, the velvety voice of Valentina muffled through the door, "Loki? Are you done with removing your shirt?"

Loki's conscious mind did not process her voice, although it seemed to pick up on her presence, which drew him to the thought of the woman not ten metres away.

  
Although, that woman is not exactly playing to the role of boot as of yet. She knows that Loki had murdered many in her realm, yet she seems to be completely unperturbed by the thought.

  
No, she was most definitely going to use Loki's emotions to give him the most painful experience possible, after all isn't that what everyone else had done?

  
During Loki's small daydream, Valentina had been leaning against the door, and after hearing no reply but silence from inside the room, she became concerned for him, "Well, I'm coming in now. Please don't be dead."

She opened the door quietly to find Loki to be in exactly the same position as she had left him; on his back, and staring into space.  
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly in annoyance, and she paced over to him, standing over his form and startling him from his dreamlike stupor, "Loki! It has been over an hour! Why haven't you removed your shirt yet?"

  
The man's emerald green eyes snapped open wide, and he sat up in shock, instant regret clouding his mind as pain streaked through his core. He winced visibly, and Valentina's eyes softened, her lips pursing in pity.

  
Loki caught her pitying look and he growled, "Do not _pity_ me, _mortal_. I am a **_god_**! I am-" The woman cut him off, "Can you take you your shirt?"

  
He stopped, and narrowed his eyes, hissing out, "Yes, I can take off my shirt." The silver haired woman nodded, "Then please do. We need to treat your wounds before they become even worse in state."

The male's jaw clenched, the muscle protruding slightly,and his arms found their way to the green shirt, his fingers wrapping lightly around the hem of the shirt. He tugged up, his shoulders groaning in strain,but he bit his tongue in silence, exhaling through his nose, before continuing, the higher up he brought his arms the more they fought back with pain.

Finally, after a grueling five minutes, he managed to pull the cloth from his body. Slightly out of breath, a thin sheen of sweat creating a shine on his forehead, he lay back down, whining out in pain as his body shook in rejection to seemingly just existing as a whole.

  
Valentina sighed as he slid his eyes closed in exhaustion, unhappy that her house guest was experiencing such a thing. Shaking her head she leaned over him, "I am quickly going to assess your wounds, then I'll bandage and clean them accordingly." Loki didn't seem to even have enough strength to nod his head, so he just grunted in acknowledgment.

She took this as the sign to go ahead, and so raised her hands over his stomach, the softly lowered them to make contact with his alabaster flesh. It prickled uncomfortably under her touch, and Loki restrained himself from pulling away, knowing it would do more damage than good for now.

Valentina's eyes slid closed as her warm hands laid on the skin of his stomach, and her body seemed to tighten more the longer she held her hands in contact with him. Valentina's body thrummed awake, something akin to a bear awakening from hibernation; slow and fatigued, as if she hadn't used it in years.

The first sensation she felt from her reaction to the flesh of Loki was the familiar tug of energy, although colder and lighter than usual energy, it was still humming around him like bees to a beehive. It was a moderate amount, which was expected of an Asgarðian prince well versed in magic, but something still felt off about it. There seemed to be a cold sheen to it, as if it were being disconnected from Loki's body, drawn out almost.

It was a strange and very new sensation for Valentina, that's for sure. What followed after the energy was pain.

Whole-body pain.

It burned flames into her bloodstream and cut into her skin, leaving her pores excreting sweat to alleviate the pain. 

She sighed through her nose and closed her eyes tighter, mentally bracing herself for what was to come, then drew from him.

She latched onto his aches, and pulled hard and fast. It burned her mind, searing holes into her subconscious, but she pushed it away with the grit of her teeth, allowing her mind to calm, like a smoothing of a ripple on a still lake. She continued to pull, suck, ans draw from him, until she had felt the pain screech up her back, burrowing deep in to her bones, rocking her frame like a hammer on a cowbell. It sent spirals of pain vibrating through her limbs, to the tips of her hair follicles, all the way back to her core.

This moment seemed to last forever, the agony of taking from Loki his suffering, but it ended within a minute to the observing eye.

She threw her hands away from Loki's torso, falling back onto her elbows, her body now trembling with aches akin to muscle overuse. She panted for a moment, a bead of sweat cascading down her forehead, then she collected herself.

  
Sitting up and pulling the first aid kid from her side, she prepared the necessary items to treat his wounds, now that she had a more intimate understanding of exactly how deep they went. Loki's breathing became less rugged, and more even.

He had fallen asleep. Good. That makes it a whole lot easier to treat him.

And so the silver-eyed woman got to work, dabbing, soaking, wiping, pressing, wrapping. It was all finished within an hour, and in the end, she fell back onto her elbows again, letting out a content and exhausted breath.

She gathered the medical supplies as quietly as she could, and crept out of the room,scared to wake the man, despite the fact she had not woken him up, even when dousing his wounds in alcohol.

The door softly clicked shut behind her, and she sighed in content.


	7. Aries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wakey wakey eggs and bakey

_**LOKI'S SLEEP WAS FITFUL -** constantly waking up from his mind's disturbing images that it seemed to so willingly provide for him._

He would awaken from shock or terror, sweat drenching his aching form. After the fourth jolt awake, the emerald-eyed man decided against attempting sleep again. His sheets were damp, and his garments were wet from his liquids- tears, sweat, and drool-, and as he peeled away from them, he shuddered in disgust, pulling his top lip into a sneer.

Sitting up straight on the bed, Loki rolled his shoulders and stretched, his joints popping and his body aching considerably less than before he had fallen asleep. What on Midgarðr had his host done to his body to reduce such pain? He hummed under his breath in thought, coming to the conclusion she had somehow given him painkillers.  Shaking his head, the thought of his body being forced to ingest something whilst he was vulnerable making his insides churn.

Standing, Loki quietly shuffled over to the bookshelf, a deep and growl-like yawn escaping his throat as he made his way over. Scanning the titles, he picked one of random choice. It seemed to be a story of a 'Lord of the Rings', something that made him quirk an eyebrow at. What type of role could rings play that they would be mentioned in the title? Loki sat down in the armchair that sat to the side of the bed, then turned the brightness setting of the lamp beside him to lower. He began to read.

The hours passed by in a blur, and soon enough the birds of the forest surrounding the house began to awaken and chatter amongst themselves. A knock sounded from the wooden door to his room, and he hummed out, "Come in,"

The door creaked open quietly, and a sleepy-eyed Valentina emerged from behind the door, a fluffy white floor-length robe that tied with a sash around her waist hung off her form. Her hair was messy, kinked and curled in unsuspected directions that seemed to defy gravity. Her eyes surveyed the man in the chair who was observing her cautiously as she approached him.

Her eyebrows furrowed suddenly, and she stepped closer to his chair, making him tense slightly, "You look exhausted, Loki. Did you sleep at all?" He nodded, "I had enough sleep. I found this literature to be more useful of my time once I had woken up, though." His alabaster hand raised the book, making the woman's eyes light up. "Oh the Lord of The Rings! It's a very good read. Are you enjoying it so far?" The man nodded, internally relieved that he had successfully diverted her attention to the book rather than his sleep schedule.

The silver-eyed woman smiled softly, "Well, I'm making breakfast. Come down when you're ready. Feel free to bring the book down with you." Loki nodded his head in acknowledgement, and she smiled once again at his slightly tense form before clicking the door shut after herself.

Loki let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding in, and set the book down, bookmarking it with one of the bookmarks he had found in the drawer of the bedside table. It seemed to be handmade, with an ornate design of a dragon painted in gold ink on the sheet of black card, the gold ribbon that looped at the top coming off into a tassel. Loki wondered if his host had made them herself, as they were unsigned and looked to be purely handmade. He made note that he would be impressed if she did, as he walked down the staircase (with surprising ease), as the amount of detail that was put into the simple and seemingly unimportant objects was impressive to say the least.

The quiet sound of kitchen utensils clanking against each other sounded from the end of the corridor, around the left corner. As Loki reached the end of the corridor, he looked around, now in a clear-enough mindset to actually perceive his surroundings.

There was a soft sound of guitar rolling from the speakers on his right, the black box sitting just below the reflective television screen. There was light rain falling from the skies above, smattering the tin roof with quiet white noise, filling the air with a certain cool, peaceful humidity. Trailing his eyes around the room, he noticed the animal skulls hanging from the wall, quirking his eyebrow in curiosity before moving his emerald orbs to trace the rest of the room. A tank at the other end of the room held a large black, coiled mass that looked to be a serpent of some type. His eyebrows lifted for a brief moment of surprise, before a voice cut him off, “His name is Baphomet.”

Loki’s face snapped to the left, a look of confusion donning his pale complexion, “Pardon?”

The silver-haired woman moved around the wall, smiling, “The snake in the glass tank.” She moved her eyes to said tank, “His name is Baphomet.” Walking towards the tank and reaching in, the black snake seemed to awaken and coil around her arm. He twisted up her arm until his head at her shoulder, his tongue darting in and out of his lips snoozily. The woman smiled down at the snake, then glanced up at the man in front of her, who was gazing upon the snake’s strange markings. “He was attacked by a group of drunk men with a shovel. He is half blind, and is unable to catch his own food, as many of his ribs were shattered. It’s lucky he didn’t die.”

The green-eyed man gazed down at the sleepy snake in thought, spitting in his mind about the atrocity of the human race. The woman laughed, “This breed of snake is incredibly venomous, but he is possibly the sweetest and most cuddly animal I have ever met, thus Baphomet. Baphomet is a pagan god that is seen as the definition as complete ambiguity, as the “sum of the universe”. Both good and bad, both strong and weak and so on.”

The man only stared at her, his eyebrows furrowing, which she upheld is stare before becoming a tad uncomfortable the only sound the raindrops on the roof and the quiet guitar in the background. Shifting in her stance, she let the black snake back into his tank, and walked back into the kitchen, the sounds of pots and pans clanking against each other once again filling the house.

Loki awkwardly sat down in the plush chair to his left, stretching his fingers before silently drumming them against the arm of the chair. Quiet hums of Valentina along with the music started to seep from the kitchen. Loki turned his head to the right to see her silver hair falling out of it’s bun as she bopped along to the music, chopping up vegetables for whatever was to be breakfast.  The wall between the kitchen and the loungeroom had a large arch carved out of it, creating a window for the users of the kitchen to see the television whilst working on making food.

The velvety humming slowly turned into her quietly singing a lyric or two here or there, creating harmonies occasionally. The raven-haired man’s lips quirked tinily at her actions, her nonchalant and unguarded attitude refreshing for him. But it is unlikely that it is genuine, as -after all- who would honestly allow themselves to be unguarded around the God of manipulation and lies?

A mouth-wateringly delicious smell wafted it’s way into the loungeroom through the arch space, the sizzling of food frying in the pan cutting through the air. Loki’s nose twitched in reply to the sense-arousing smell, his stomach howling loudly, notifying him of it’s emptiness. After a few minutes of him leaning back with his eyes closed, drinking in the serene atmosphere, Valentina’s voice brought him back to reality, “Breakfast’s ready.” His eyelids snapped open, and he sat up straight, his body aching slightly from the movement. The speed of his healing surprising him somewhat, though maybe his body was finally catching up and adjusting to not having Seiðr to subconsciously heal him.

Loki nodded his head in thanks to the pearl-skinned woman, who sat on the couch opposite him, handing him his plate and cutlery beforehand. Valentina’s eyes traced his form as she cut into her omelette, stabbing a piece and placing it into her mouth before chewing slowly as she watched Loki gracefully pick up the cutlery, then not so gracefully poke the meal with his knife.

The woman bit back a laugh at his behaviour, swallowing her bite before sucking in her lips to restrict the chuckles. “What is this?” Loki’s voice hummed out in question, quirking one perfectly shaped eyebrow. Valentina licked her lips, then smirked, “It’s the unborn offspring of a cockatrice-like creature.” Mirth swam in the silver pools of her eyes as she took another bite of her omelette. The emerald-eyed male’s eyebrows shot up, until he noticed the giggles she was hiding, which caused him to relax and quirk one eyebrow in humour, “Oh?” He purred breathily, a slight chuckle lining his lips. He elegantly cut himself a piece of the food, “… And is this creature more akin to a dragon, or a cock?”

Valentina choked on her mouthful with a laugh, keeling over slightly and smacking her chest to get the food into the right pipe, once her coughing fit had finished, she sat up straight and cleared her throat, her voice cracking slightly, “We-Well…” Her velvety voice rumbled out, “It depends which end of the beast you are referring to.”

A slightly sinister-looking grin split across Loki’s face as he chuckled at the jest between them, his tongue poking a tad between his front teeth.

Valentina’s giggles finally escaped, and her face softened with the laughter. The mirth that hung in the air remained as their laughter died down, their lips lilted upwards as they ate.

The soft sound of guitar thrummed around the lounge, filling the silence with a comfortable atmosphere. Valentina’s voice cut the air, “I need to go to town today, so perhaps we could purchase you some new clothing, as you cannot simply live with only your undergarments.” Loki’s face tilted up to hers, his eyebrows furrowing, before softening, realising that he, in fact, could not use his magic to summon more clothing. Nodding his head he hummed, “That seems appropriate.”

Valentina’s lips pulled into a smile, and she stood, now finished with her breakfast, “Well, once you’re finished with your dishes please put them away and get yourself washed up, as we will leave at noon.” She turned and moved to the kitchen, rinsing her dishes and placing them into the dishwasher, before disappearing down the corridor to the stairs. Emerald eyes trailed after her form until it disappeared down the corridor, then snapped down to the empty plate in his lap and up to the kitchen. The man’s dark eyebrows furrowed slightly in frustration, he was a _prince_ -a **_god-_** and yet she treated him as if he were some type of commonfolk. Gritting his teeth in irritation, his eye twitching slightly, he stood, then shuffled over to the kitchen, where he glanced around before figuring out where to put his dishes.

Huffing out, he made his way back to the stairs at the end of the corridor, preparing himself to work whatever strange Midgarðian contraptions he must to bathe himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, rip. Sorry for such postponed updates. I was slammed with exams lol. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	8. Auriga

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Broom broom

_**NEARLY FOUR HOURS** later and Loki and Valentina met in the loungeroom, Valentina had a large fur-lined coat draped over the back of the couch she was seated on. _

Her legs were bent over the armrest, her eyes tracing over the lines of text in the thick novel rested in her lap. A clearing of a throat drew her from the book, her silver eyes darted to the figure somewhat awkwardly leant against the doorframe to the hallway. 

“Are you ready to leave?” His voice sounded quietly, not nearly as confident as Loki would have liked. 

Valentina smiled then spun her body around, placing the book down on the coffee table and brushing herself off. “Yes,” She pulled her arm back and swept the large coat from the back of the couch, revealing the second slightly thinner, black wool-blend coat that was dwarfed underneath the first. 

Walking forward and scooping the set of keys from the coffee table, Valentina handed the large coat to the man in her doorway, “Here, it’s a bit chilly outside.” 

Alabaster hands fumbled with the luxurious material, green eyes scanning the clothing item to decode it’s use. Valentina’s tongue dashed across her lips as she switched the speakers off and grabbed her phone from the front bench, shrugging on her thin coat. 

Loki’s brow furrowed slightly, then he spoke, “I don’t need to wear such thick materials. My body can take colder temperatures than a Midgarðian’s body,” 

The pearl-skinned woman chuckled whilst pulling on some brown boots, “Of course, but wearing only a set of thin pants and undershirt on a three degree day would surely look strange to a Midgarðian, would it not?” 

Loki’s eyebrows relaxed, before humming silently under his breath, noting that she was correct. 

Shaking her head slightly, Valentina chuckled quietly before opening the front door, the frost of outside blowing in slightly, her hair billowing softly in the breeze. Her guest stepped out, pulling on the large black coat as she closed the door behind him. 

Quickly locking the door, Valentina walked to be in pace with Loki, their shoes crunching the thin layer of freshly fallen snow undersole with each step. They both reached the large black vehicle and got in. (Loki had done at least this much during his time on Midgarðr) 

The vehicle warmed up soon enough, and by the time that the heating had kicked in, they were on the road. 

Valentina’s thumbs tapped against the steering wheel in beat to the quiet music that played, her eyes fixated on the road ahead of her.

 Loki’s focus was set on the outside world that was streaking past at an incredibly fast rate, the greens and browns mixing into a blur, providing an opportunity for him to get lost in his mind.

The woman that sat next to him was strange. 

Her mannerisms seemed to deviate from most Midgarðians Loki had met, and she looked completely different to most Midgarðians he had seen. 

What threw him off most was that she was almost impossible to read. 

She seemed completely concerned for his wellbeing, yet she had no reason to be.

 Awkward would have to be the best word to summarise her personality. Valentina seemed to be the ‘bleeding heart’ type, yet she seemed to space herself emotionally far enough to not actually build a solid relationship with him. 

Though, that may be because he was being a tad standoffish. 

But who could blame him? 

He was a proud man, and to be placed into the palms of some random Midgarðian, with no understanding of her past or most other personal information, it was understandable to be guarded. 

But what had he actually learned about this woman so far?

 Yes, she looked and acted strangely. 

She seemed to care for creatures – a snake at least. 

She had an incredible library, and she could cook an adequate meal or two. 

  


Although he wouldn’t show it physically, Loki did believe that he was being a bit too rough with his words. The woman had done nothing but helped him, and yet he still treated her as if she were a jailer. 

His eyebrows pulled together slightly in vexation, he still did not trust her, as she was treating him with kindness, but for what purpose? 

What could she possibly gain from helping a malicious and temperamental god as he? 

A headache, assuredly, but anything positive?

 He could not come up with any possible reason. He couldn’t do anything of any significant value, as his Seiðr had been restricted. So why would a woman put up with such a bad guest as he? 

“-oki?” A soft voice hummed from beside the man, making him snap his head around, his eyebrows still pulled together. 

Valentina glanced back at the road, before gazing into his eyes, “Are you alright? You’ve been grumbling under your breath for about a minute now,” 

His eyebrows fell apart from eachother, and a lump caught in his throat, before he looked at the road in front of him, away from her eyes, “…I am fine,”

His face tinged the slightest hue of pink, too faint for the naked eye to see. He seemed to lose a bit of control over his facial expressions today, likely due to being completely out of his comfort zone. 

Valentina’s lips quirked upwards into a smirk, but she sucked her lips in to prevent herself from laughing, something that Loki noticed from the corner of his eye.

 His eyes narrowed, then snarled, “Don’t mock me,” Which caused a giggle to erupt from the woman’s throat, making him even more irritated. He growled, then turned away, his jaw clenching in frustration. 

Her laughter finally escaped her chest, and it sounded through the car, ticking the god off even more. After a while her laughter died down, the man next to her practically fuming, his face visibly pink now. 

Absolutely humiliating. 

At his weakest, his best talent was lying and hiding his true emotions, and here he was. 

Blushing. 

Honestly, what had gotten into him? 

If this were a typical situation, he would have just shut her up or charmed her with his Seiðr. 

Now here he was, weak and open to humiliation, now only making it worse by blushing even more. 

He tugged off the coat in a desperate attempt to cool down, but the heating of the car was still in full force. His face flushed even more when he struggled with the coat, only making his embarrassed rush even more clumsy. 

He frustratedly spun the heating knob down to cooling, and turned away from the woman next to him. 

She watched him fumble out of the corner of her eye, her lips tilting up into a pleasant smile as she set her eyes on the road. 

After a couple minutes of silence, she spoke, “Tell me something, Loki,” Causing his head to shoot to her, surprised. He was no longer blushing, but still ticked off nonetheless. He spat, “What? Why?” 

She smiled, “Well, here I am, driving the Norse god of mischief, to buy him a new wardrobe and groceries, yet I have no idea why he was in the Northern portion of my forest. I know that he is the adopted brother of Thor, the god of Thunder,” His face darkened slightly at that, “and loves to cause mischief. I know that his adopted family has cut off his Seiðr, and that he was the one who launched the attack on New York about a year ago. Yet I know not why he did so. I have a curious mind, and I know that you’re curious about me, too.”   
  


Loki’s body became stiff, but she continued, “Now, I believe that an information session is due, no? If you tell me something about yourself, then I will tell you something about myself, deal?” 

His jaw flexed, but he nodded anyway, “That sounds appropriate,” 

Valentina smiled, then glanced at him from the corner of her eye, then back to the road, “So,” She started, licking her lips, “What was it like, being beaten to a pulp by the Hulk?” 

Loki’s face dropped in disbelief, then he smiled brightly, “Oh, it was a wonderful experience, the feeling of my bones being pulverised by a giant screaming beast was almost orgasmic-” He then gave her a disbelieving look, “It hurt more than the wounds I was so afflicted with yesterday, what the Hel did you expect me to reply with? ‘Oh it wasn’t that bad’ ‘just a few scrapes’ ‘oh no, we were merely playfighting’,” 

A giggle escaped the woman next to him, “I just wanted to see your reaction,” She laughed quietly, then raised her eyebrows at him pointedly, “For a second there I thought you had a very masochistic streak, sir,” 

Her words took him off-guard for a second, making him smirk, a quiet chuckle escaping him. 

Her lips tilted upwards, both of them quiet for a while, before he spoke, “…So why did you save me?” Valentina’s eyes glassed over for a moment before clearing again, a soft smile crossing her lips, “I was curious. A man, barely hanging onto life, surviving in negative eight degree weather in only and undershirt and pants. There is always a story behind suffering, and all stories are worth listening to, whether they’re from a two-year-old child, an old man or a man whose body is scarred by war,”

The car was silent for a moment, his green eyes gazing at the driver’s profile in scrutiny. She was still smiling softly, more peaceful than someone should look after saying something as vague as that.

Her voice hummed, then she spoke, “…In your home, which was your most favourite place to visit? I can only imagine that Asgarðr would have commodities for every occasion,”

Loki’s face softened into a smile, “Yes, it is magnificent. The palace is lined with gold, and the rooms are large and welcoming. They provide perfect escape from crowds, as the hallways are labyrinthian in nature. The best room, though, would have to be the library,” Loki’s face brightened tremendously when he mentioned it, “Ah, the bookcases are more familiar to me than the back of my own hand. I must have read most every book in the library.” 

He then rolled his eyes, “Thor, of course, never viewed it as so. ‘It’s all words!’ he would cry when flipping through a book I had just finished, ‘How can you be so interested in words, when there are no pictures to accompany them?’ Honestly, he is akin to a toddler, his focus only lasts if the subject in question has breasts or has oversized weaponry,” 

This caused a chuckle to escape the woman next to him, her eyes darting over to his face, “Oaf?” 

He snorted, “The very definition,” 

This caused a laugh to escape the woman, catching onto the god beside her, who chuckled under his breath. 

The laughter died down after a while, and they lavished in the silence that hummed with mirth. 

Loki glanced at the woman next to him, “So,” He began, “Why do you live so far away from civilisation?” 

The woman stiffened slightly at the question, Loki took note. “Well…” Valentina’s eyes darted to him then back to the road. 

She shifted in her seat, “It’s a secluded area, in which I do not have to interact with humans. Also, it is an old enough estate that the law doesn’t apply to it. It’s on an ‘undefined’ piece of Earth that is not owned by any country or government, so I don’t have to pay taxes,” 

Her words were sharp and almost robotic – preplanned almost-, so she obviously was telling a lie, or not telling the whole truth. 

The car was swallowed by silence for a moment, making very obvious to Valentina that Loki had seen through her farce, but he luckily didn’t mention it, as she spoke again, “…Who taught you to use Seiðr?” 

Loki’s green eyes twinkled once again, “My mo-” he cut himself off, before righting his wording, “Thor’s mother; Frigga. She is very talented in the art of magic. She taught me everything from teleportation to pocket dimension storage…” His tone grew bitter, “I would give you an example, but, _unfortunately_ , my _Seiðr_ has been _cut_ from me,” He grit his teeth then turned to the window, brooding about his unfortunate circumstances. 

Valentina’s voice hummed, “From what I have seen, you are quite adept at magic, no? There is footage on the internet of you producing high-level illusions,” 

Loki snapped out of his brood with that confidence-boosting comment, “ _Ah~_ , yes, I am quite adept in the arts of magic. After all, I _did_ have one of the most talented sorcerers as my tutor. Illusions are my specialty, actually,” This caused the silver-eyed woman to grin, “ _Oh?_ Please, humour me, what does producing an illusion entail?”

And so the car was filled with talk about the technicalities of producing a _perfect,_ mirror-image illusion, and how to make it move without consciously thinking, for the rest of the ride, until Valentina pulled into a driveway to a small cottage-like house. 


	9. Boötes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maybe so

**_VALENTINA TURNED OFF_ ** _the ignition and pulled out the keys, unbuckling her seat belt and getting out of the car, her god-like guest following suit in an, albeit, wary manner._

Their shoes crunched against the green grass that sprouted on the front lawn of the house.

A grin spread it’s way onto Valentina’s face as she approached the house, her voice making Loki jump as she called out, “Oh, _Strickler~~~!_ Death is here to claim you!”

Loki gazed at her with a look of bewilderment, eyes slightly widened and eyebrows furrowed slightly.

What on _Midgarðr_ was this greeting?

Her wooden soles tapped against the wooden veranda as she made her way to the front door, and it creaked open to reveal a withered and grey old man, hunched over to three quarters of his height.

His hair was thin and grey but still covered most of his head, and a pair of glasses were perched on his large, crooked nose.

A large smile stretched across his face, and his eyes glittered with a youth that did not match his frame, “Ah! Tin-Tin! It’s been a time since you’ve visited! One moment, let me get Merry- MERIDETH!!!”

His suddenly large voice caused Loki to jolt where he stood, but he caught himself – or so he thought – before anyone caught his reaction.

The silver-toned woman grinned, “You’re getting saggier by the _day_ , Strickler!”

Causing the old man to laugh, “And you look just as _young_ as ever, Tin-Tin!”

He peered over his glasses at the tall man standing next to her, “You’ve brought company! Very unlike you, Val! Oh well, the more the merrier, as I always say!

The man then bellowed with hearty laughter, making Loki _very_ uncomfortable.

A small grey woman hobbled in from behind the man, her figure supported by a walking frame.

She growled at Strickler and bonked him on the head with her fist, “Oi! Daryl, you’re lettin’ in the bloody cold! Close the door before we _freeze_ to death!”

Her face contorted from a snarl to a soft smile as she gazed up at Valentina, “It’s lovely to see you, love. Come in, come in!”

She then ushered in Valentina inside, her eyes widening as she spotted the tall god trailing behind the young-faced woman.

The older-looking woman fluttered a light hand to her cheek in surprise, “What a dashing man! Have you finally found yourself a partner, Tina?”

Loki licked his bottom lip, a deep and quiet chuckle escaping him, his eyed raised from the small woman to the tall one with a look of subtle amusement.

His eyebrow twitched as he breathed out, and Valentina shook her head, pulling off her coat, chuckling, “Apologies, but no, he is staying at my place until he’s well enough,”

This caused a disappointed look to cross Merideth’s face, “Shame,”

She huffed slightly, “You really need to find yourself a man one of these days! It can’t be healthy, moping around in that overgrown _forest_ of yours!”

This caused Valentina to shake her head, Daryl’s voice bellowed from the kitchen, “Oh, come off her, Merry! She knows what she’s doin’!”

The silver-eyed woman hummed out, “ _Aye_ , I couldn’t bear the attachment at this point in time, it’s still far too soon,”

_Never_ was too soon, after what she had been through.

Merideth looked at her with a mild look of exasperation and pity, but mainly futility.

She shook her head and smiled up at Loki, her eyes twinkling, “Now what’s your name, lad?”

Loki’s face tilted into a charming smile, “Loki Laufeyson, and what might _your_ name be, beautiful one?”

He gently grasped her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. Her face pinkened slightly, “O-oh my! What a _gentleman_! My name is Merideth Strickler,”

He stood back up to his full height, a charming smile set upon his face, “It is a _pleasure_ to make your acquaintance, _Merideth_ ,”

Merideth placed her hand on her cheek, then glanced over at Valentina, who was watching the exchange with an amused smirk, “Tina, are you sure you don’t want him? Because I might just have to steal him right up from under you!”

Loki’s eyes darted over at Valentina who was now chuckling, “Oh, feel free. But if you leave _Daryl_ I might just have to steal _him_ from _you_ ,”

Daryl poked his head in the doorway and wiggled his eyebrows playfully at Valentina, “Wouldn’t mind that at all, I wouldn’t!”

A cross expression crossed Merideth’s face, her voice crying out, “Daryl! You sleazy _bastard_ _!”_

Merideth hobbled over to Daryl and smacked him on the head, a few _‘ow’_ s and ‘ _ouch’_ es escaping him after each hit.

This small altercation caused the two younger-looking beings in the room to chuckle quietly, a fond look crossing the silver-haired woman’s face.

Loki gazed at her expression keenly.

She had an attachment to this elderly couple.

The dynamic was strange, though.

They seemed to act as a group of friends rather than a family.

Like three people who have seen life’s hardships together.

Loki absentmindedly watched as the three interacted, taking in their interactions.

They all respected eachother, but their mentalities seemed to differ slightly.

At least Valentina’s did.

She seemed to act and speak more… _Maturely_ than the older-looking couple.

Almost as if she was older or had lived longer than the other two.

She acted and spoke as if she was exhausted from living.

His attention was drawn from Valentina by a giggling Merideth, who was being poked by Daryl.

Valentina shook her head softly, and sighed, “I needed to speak with you, Daryl,”

Both Daryl and Merideth stood to attention, halting in their playful actions to listen to what she had to say.

_Very_ interesting.

They respected her very much.

Why would they respect such a young woman?

“I need some more gigs, because my house is getting too cold. I need the money for heating,”

Daryl nodded his head at Valentina, smiling brightly, “’Course! It’s been ages since you last performed! I’m sure everyone would tip ‘ya heftily for comin’ back!”

Valentina nodded, and they continued to converse for a while.

Loki watched on the sidelines, only replying shortly whenever a question was asked of him and he was dragged into the conversation.

After the Stricklers had finished roasting Valentina for her lack of social life, they parted ways, Valentina walking out of the front door, to her car with Loki in front of her.

She waved her goodbyes, chuckling at the pair of sprightly Midgarðians before unlocking and allowing both herself and her raven-haired compatriot into the vehicle.

The snow had stopped falling from the sky by now, and the music hummed through the car quietly once again, the silence between the two not nearly as awkward as it had been in the earlier ride.

Perhaps Loki seeing his host in a more comfortable and intimate setting had allowed him to loosen up a bit.

Hopefully he had loosened up a bit.

His stand-offish-ness was bleeding into Valentina’s mentality.

The car ride was silent the entire five minutes that it took to get to the shopping centre.

It wasn’t _uncomfortable_ , but it _was_ **_strange_**.

They both felt as if there was something else that they wanted to say to eachother, but couldn’t quite find the words.

So instead they stayed silent, mentally questioning why they felt this way.

What could they _possibly_ want to say to eachother that they didn’t before?

Nevertheless, the car soon rolled into a parking spot in the parking of the shopping centre, and they both exited the vehicle.

Loki followed after Valentina as she strolled relaxedly towards the entrance, “…So what are we doing now?” His eyes scanned her face as he walked in pace with her.

She smiled, then looked up at him, “We’re going to buy you some new clothes, and then some food to restock the pantry. Then we will get some lunch and perhaps go to the pound to donate some things I no longer have any use for,”

His green eyes gazed into hers for a pregnant moment before flicking away, scanning the people who passed them.

A small group of women all gazed at the beautiful pair as they walked into the shopping centre, a murmur humming amongst themselves as the doors slid closed behind the two.

Loki noticed this, his chest puffing out lightly as a small smirk split across his face, lavishing in the attention from the opposite sex.

Valentina simply shook her head, chuckling, continuing on to make her way to a clothing store.

As they walked in pace with eachother to the store, a multitude of gazes fell on their seemingly perfect, untarnished forms.

They seemed to glow in comparison to the people around them, their perfectly sculpted faces drawing the attention of every thing and one around them.

That is why, when the second they entered the store they were not surprised at the male store clerk brightly asking if they needed assistance.

His quaffed blond hair stood gravity defyingly, and his bright blue eyes twinkled as he spoke, “Hi! Welcome to Clarque’s. How may I be of service to you?”

His eyes seemed to gravitate towards Loki’s large form, not-so-subtly dancing across his form-fitting clothes.

His teeth shone, obviously recently whitened, as he grinned brightly up at the green-eyed Asgarðian.

Loki had obviously picked up on this man’s wandering eyes, and grinned flirtatiously, “ _Oh_ , I don’t know. How _can_ you help me?” His voice seemed to purr as he hummed out these words, eliciting a lip-bite from the man in front of him.

Valentina watched the interaction with an amused gleam in her eye, her lip turned up subtly, laughing silently under her breath.

The store clerk seemed to blush a bit, his tongue seemingly tied.

Valentina spoke up, a dazzling smile on her face, “We’re here to buy him a new wardrobe. Could you please point us towards the underwear section?”

His face simply glowed with the pink tint of enamourment as his eyes darted to Valentina's and he cleared his throat, "Ahem... Of course! Right this way!" He then strode of briskly to the back left corner of the store, Valentina and Loki in tow.

A small grin made it's way across the silver-haired woman's face as she noticed the clerk's face fuming a bit more, notifying her that she he was thinking about the god beside her.

"... _Nude_ ," she spoke as they approached the underwear, causing the clerk to jolt as if someone had poked him with an electrical rod, and whipped his head around to face her, "Pa- _pardon_??"

He was very much blushing now, which caused a grin to split across Loki's face and a restrained smirk cross Valentina's.

She held her laughter back, and shook her head slightly, "Oh, I was merely thinking that nude colours would be best for underwear, that's all,"

The clerk, who had obviously be thrown from his internal spiel of Loki-fantasies cleared his throat, " _A-ah_! Um- y-yes!..."

Loki was obviously withholding his snickers, very much enjoying the squirming of the store clerk under his host's influence.

The green-eyed god grinned charmingly and purred down to the store clerk alluringly, "I do believe that will be all... _For_ _now_ ," his tongue poked out a tad from his front teeth, and the store clerk gulped, blushing furiously, before nodding and scurrying off to help an elderly man.

A snort escaped the silver-pigmented woman, eliciting a gaze from the man beside her, "He was _awfully_ attentive to your... _Physique_. What a... _Delightful_ reaction," She chuckled, shuffling through the underwear, earning a curious yet smug gaze from the god beside her.

" _Ah_ , yes. My charms do tend to have an effect on all genders and races across the galaxies. Though I do have to say, that _comment_ about 'nude colouration' certainly elicited _quite_ a response from the man. I _wonder_ what he could _possibly_ have been _thinking_ about," a mischievous smirk split across his face, his tongue once again poking through his teeth.

A muffled snort escaped the woman, her laughter swallowed as she lightly slapped his arm, " _Oh_ , _stop_ , you _minx_ ,"

She continued her rummaging, placing items into a neat pile into her arms as Loki's face relaxed in surprise at her familiar gesture.

She seemed to ignore his intrigued gaze on her and made her way through the rest of the store, picking up clothing, holding it up to his torso and squinting to see if it looked the appropriate size for him.

The entire time they could both sense the hawk-like eyes of the store clerk following their every action.

Once Valentina had deemed that she had picked up enough items, she moved to the changing rooms, and handed the clothing to Loki.

"Try each of these items on, pass them over the door if they’re the wrong size, and I'll find a better size for you. Place the items you do not like on the hook on the left of the cubicle, the ones you like on the right," The silver eyed woman nodded at the changeroom, and pushed him in to the cubicle.

Irritation at her manhandling him and touching his body firmer than a tap flushed his mind, but he pushed it away, knowing that now was not the time to antagonise the woman buying his clothing.

He gulped down his irritated and likely offensive retort, and hung his items on the side of the cubicle.

Soon enough he had tried on most of the items, and they had both selected the ones that looked the best on his lean form.

The process had gone mostly smoothly, besides a few difficulties deciphering what went where in the clothing area.

Loki exited from the changeroom with a large pile of clothes in one arm, his original clothing back on.

Valentina stood up from her seat and brushed herself off, smiling at him before walking towards the counter, getting out her wallet.

Loki followed, expecting that this was what she intended for him to do.

He placed the clothing pile on the counter, in front of the blond-haired store clerk.

It was mostly silent as the store clerk focused on not allowing his blushing cheeks to spontaneously combust as he scanned the underwear, and Valentina gazed absentmindedly at the items being dropped into the large plastic bags.

Loki simply looked around the store, out the windows and at the small brown birds that fluttered about some tables, fighting over crumbs of someone’s unfinished sandwich.

A quiet cough sounded, and both Valentina and Loki looked up at the blushing store clerk, his naturally pink-tinged skin now a hot pink, the tips of his ears fuming slightly.

The store clerk stammered a bit, seemingly a victim to his fantasies, now, as he struggled to get out a small, “Th-that’s eight hundred, seventeen dollars and twenty cents. Cash or card?”

Valentina smiled, then unzipped her wallet, “ _Well_ , I most _certainly_ do not have close to _a thousand dollars_ in _cash_ , but I _do_ have a _credit_ card,”

She smirked and looked up at him from under her lashes, and he seemed to realise what he said was somewhat foolish, his eyes widening slightly, his face growing ever redder,

“ _Card please_ ,”

He nodded, and licked his lips, pointing to the machine, "We take tap, swipe and insert,"

Valentina chuckled and flashed a mischievous smirk to the man standing next to her, "Not unlike my friend here,"

As she nonchalantly gazed back down at the card machine, tapping the card on the screen and smiling lightly as if she hadn't just hinted at something sexual.

The store clerk spluttered slightly at the innuendo, his face and neck now fuming a hot pink, his eyes slightly widened, and his mouth slightly ajar.

Loki quirked an eyebrow and smirked, humming under his breath, then chuckling lowly, rumbling out a velvety, " _Indeed..._ "

This seemed to tip the store clerk completely over the edge as his eyes glazed over slightly, staring red-faced and wide-eyed at the darkly handsome man in front of him who was chuckling deeply.

Valentina scooped the bags into her hands, and winked at the store clerk, "Thank you!~", before sauntering out of the store, Loki in step, the store clerk unable to do anything but watch them, gaping, as they exited the store.

Once the pair were around the corner and out of ear and eyeshot from the blond man, they both chuckled.

"He was so _confident_ when we first walked in..." Valentina spoke, straightening her face.

Loki nodded, his eyebrows furrowing slightly in mock contemplation, "Ah, _yes_ , but he seemed to _completely_ lose his composure once he was presented with something _more_ than innocent friendly conversation..."

Valentina nodded, 'hmm'ing in agreeance, "...Perhaps he is not used to public confrontation?"

Loki nodded, also 'hmm'ing in contemplation, "...Perhaps public confrontation is - what do you Midgarðians call it again?... _'kink'?"_

Valentina merely nodded her head, a steely expression of fake contemplation lacing her features, " _Maybe so..."_

The two maintained the visage of being deeply contemplative for a moment, before they glanced at eachother from the corners of their eyes and turned and  snorted, Loki turning away to cover his face as he laughed into his hand, and Valentina biting her lip, swallowing her would-be loud laughter.

They both strolled casually, snickering through closed mouths for a while until their laughter died down.

They both walked in amused silence for a while, smirking at their own internal commentary on what they had just witnessed, before Valentina spoke up again.

"He was _so incredibly red_ and _paralysed_ , I'm surprised," She hummed.

Loki turned and looked to her questioningly, "Hm?"

She playfully grinned, then brought her hand up from the bag, a small piece of white piece of paper with blue ink scrawled onto it, "He _somehow_ managed to give you his number,"

Loki's eyebrows raised slightly, and his eyes widened a tad, his mouth formed into a small 'o'.


	10. Caelum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Food shopping

  
_**THE TWO NEXT** made their way to the local grocer._

It was a locally sourced grocer, as the small suburban area was surrounded by farmland, and the produce was high quality.

  
The pair both attracted the gazes of passerbys, mostly ones of impression, but a few looks of recognition towards Valentina were strewn here and there. A few people smiled and waved at Valentina, who smiled and waved back, leaving Loki in an awkward saunter beside her.

  
The moment they entered the grocer, they were hit with warm air. It contrasted with the outside's nippingly cold weather. The heat flush drew Loki to remove his large coat.

  
"So," Valentina began, gathering up two plastic baskets and handing one to her compatriot, "Today we're looking for some things to cook our next week's meals with. If you see anything you find interesting or want to buy, let me know," Loki hummed in acknowledgement of her statement, and moved to walk in step with her.

  
As they walked Valentina picked up a few packets of spices, throwing them haphazardly into her red plastic basket.

  
She led them to the fresh food section, and slowed to a stop at the watermelons, picking one up and sniffing it here and there.

She finally decided on a large misshapen watermalon, and placed it into her basket, continuing on with her search without breaking so much as a sweat as the large and heavy fruit rolled around in her basket.

  
Loki strayed from her side and picked up various fruits and vegetables, examining them before placing them back down.

  
As Loki's curious eyes and fingers investigated the strange foods before him, he noticed from the corner of his eye some people giving him strange looks.

They seemed to look at him with more and more curiosity and suspicion as he placed more and more foods back down.

  
This was interesting.

  
Did Midgardians not test their fruits thoroughly before purchasing?

  
Loki looked around subtly from beneath his eyelashes, noticing people placing fruits absentmindedly into their baskets after giving their fruits and vegetables in question a brief once over.

  
He hummed in his mind and placed a large and soft red fruit into his basket after examining it thoroughly.

  
The people that were looking at him strangely now relaxed their gazes and went back to their shopping.

  
Hm.

How interesting.

These Midgardians must live in fear of difference in others.

Was it so strange to examine fruits and then leave them be?

  
Very strange.

  
A familiar laugh cut Loki's train of thought off, and he turned to face the source.

To his right, next to the very cold and brightly lit area was Valentina, beside her an incredibly large and muscular man with a very large, red beard and dark brown eyes.

His jacket was tied around his waist, and his sleeveless shirt revealed his very pink and intricately inked arms.

This man towered over Loki's height by a good half-foot, which dwarfed Valentina in comparison.

Her face glowed with laughter as the man grinned down at her, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully, his naturally pink face turning a shade pinker.

  
Loki made his way silently and cautiously towards the two, and it was only once he was sidled up to Valentina that the man grinning down at her acknowledged his presence.

  
The man's grin softened into a look of surprise, and he lowered his arm from it's flexed position to shift his basket's weight.

Now that Loki was close he could see that the man's left eyebrow, left nostril and lower lip had metal piercings adorning them.  
"Naw oo's thes?" (Now who's this?), the large red-bearded man rumbled with his smoke-damaged voice.

Valentina's body shifted to turn inwards, creating a small triangle-like circle between the three of them.

"This," she gestured to Loki, "Is Loki. Loki, this," she then gestured to the large man, "is Grant. Loki is staying with me until he's well enough," Grant's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then relaxed, a grin splitting across his face once again, sticking his hand out to shake.

  
Loki looked at it for a pause, then assumed it to be for taking, and placed his free hand in Grant's.

  
Grant strongly shook their conjoined hands firmly and strongly before releasing Loki's smaller one. "A pleasure t' meet a guest of Tina's. Ye' ben 'ere very long?" (A pleasure to meet a guest of Tina's. You been here very long?)

  
Loki shook his head slightly, then cleared his throat subtly, "I... Arrived... Approximately two days ago. I have still yet to settle in properly,"  
Grant nodded, still smiling, before glancing down at Valentina, "Tina's place is so far out in the 'oonies, et's a miracle 'at ye managed te' make 'et out so far," (Tina's place is so far out in the goonies, it's a miracle you managd to make it out so far.)

  
Loki quirked an eyebrow, then glanced down at Valentina for help, who grinned and waved her hand at the man at her flippantly, "The drive really isn't that bad. Besides, I picked him up from the airport up North. It's easier coming down that way,"

  
Grant laughed and shook his head, leaning against the metal display behind him, then glanced between the two, "Well, either way, yoo' two look damn good together. A bloody power couple 'ef I ever saw 'ne," (Well, etiher way, you two look damn good together. A bloody power couple if I ever saw one.)

Valentina chuckled, then shook her head, "Ah, no. He's just visiting. Nothing more, nothing less,"

She folded her arms, then quirked her brow, "Aren't you running late for something?"

  
This caused Grant to glance down at his watch then look as if he was about to faint, "Ahm no'- oH HELL. Ah em SO LATE. Verity's gonna kell me!" (I'm no- oH HELL. I am SO LATE. Verity's gonna kill me!)

He then bent over and placed a peck on Valentina's cheek and enveloped her in a tight and warm hug, pulling her off the ground for a split second before placing her back down and rushing off, "Bye, Tina! Ah'll see yoo' at Don's tomorrow!" (Bye, Tina. I'll see you at Don's tomorrow.)

  
Valentina chuckled then waved, "Bye, Grant! I'll see you then!"

  
Loki watched the two interact as Grant gallumphed away from Valentina and around the corner, undoubtedly to the checkout.

  
Valentina chuckled lightly and shook her head, turning to the fruits, picking up three large green apples before squeezing them individually, and placing them into her basket.

  
Loki watched her absentmindedly as she felt some strangely shaped dark brown vegetables, her eyebrows furrowing.

She looked up, then looked down at the yellow tag on the display and looked back up again.

She glanced around before locking eyes on a person stocking the shelves full of green leaved vegetables.

  
Valentina stepped away from the brown vegetable display and walked over to the person at the green leaved display, tapping them on the shoulder lightly.

  
The person jumped then covered their heart with their open palm, exhaling shakily from shock, then turning to face the silver-toned woman.

Their eyebrows raised in question, and Valentina furrowed her brows slightly, "Excuse me, but do you know when your last stocking of Entellion's Avocados was?"

  
The chestnut-haired person hummed for a moment in contemplation, before pouting, "I- uh- do believe that it was over two weeks ago. Apparently Heather's crops have been poisoned by some idiots with fuel."

  
Valentina furrowed her brows then nodded, "Thank you," The person shook their head, smiling, "Anytime," before going back to work on stocking shelves.

  
Loki quirked an eyebrow at Valentina who moved back to the display, eyebrows furrowed, placing the apparent 'avocado' back down.

She moved on to some green vegetables and a small green tree-like vegetable caught Loki's eye.

He pulled it from the display and sniffed it, pleasantly surprised by the scent before pulling it away from his nose and snapping a floret off and placing it into his mouth.

  
He chewed the crunchy vegetable and hummed, before being cut off by a voice and a hand on his shoulder, "Sir, please do not eat the product until you have purchased it,"

  
Loki whipped around to face a young man wearing a red shirt, before swallowing and snarling, "Excuse me?"

  
The thin man in the red T-shirt shrunk a little in confidence, managing to stutter out, "I-it's against store policy. Y-you can only eat it if you buy it,"

  
Loki rolled his eyes and was about to spit out an insult at the boy's face before a flexed hand grabbed his shoulder and a velvety voice sounded from behind him, "I apologize for his behaviour. He's not from around here."

Valentina smiled apologetically at the young boy, who nodded and scampered off, before tutting at Loki, "Don't antagonise the staff, Loki. They're only doing their jobs,"

  
Loki scoffed, "Well, I'm _so_ sorry for reacting to some _random_ Midgardian grabbing my shoulder roughly. It's not as if I'm not _used_ to this _strange_ and _new_ environment I was so _suddenly_ thrust into- _oh, wait. I'm **not**._ "

  
Valentina rolled her eyes and shook her head, continuing on with her search, placing items into Loki's basket every now and then, before calling out his name and pointing at the large display of orange fruits, "Loki! Look! Oranges!"

  
Hid head turned to face her direction and his eyebrows rose on his forehead as he noticed the giant mountain of named 'Oranges'.

He grinned and walked over to the display before picking one up and examining it for a moment.

  
He smiled at the texture, "This fruit is very much reminiscent of a fruit named 'Halfurdur' in Asgardr. It is cool on the outside, and has a warm, sweet and juicy centre..."

  
He then raised the fruit to his mouth and took a huge bite out of it.

  
Valentina's eyes widened and a large, amused grin split across her face as she watched his reaction.

  
His expression morphed from glee, to mild disgust, to heavy disgust to absolutely mortified.

He then promptly opened his mouth and let the bite of the fruit fall from it.

He dropped the fruit on the ground with a ' _splat_ ' and rubbed his tongue with his fingertips in a desperate attempt to rid himself of the taste.

  
Meanwhile, Valentina was crying with laughter, keeled over a limes display, one arm out to support herself and one wrapped around her stomach.

  
Loki practically gagged, the taste of the incredibly bitter pith staining his taste buds.

  
"I... Don't... Think... I have ever... Felt... So incredibly lied to... Than in this moment..."He managed to choke out as he attempted to cleanse himself of the bitter aftertaste.

  
This just caused Valentina to laugh harder, her chortles attracting the curious gazes of fellow shoppers.

  
Loki heaved a tad, causing Valentina to snort, hiding her face in her arm as her body shook with laughter.

  
After a few moments of gasping for air on both accounts, they both glanced at eachother, Valentina now with her hand on her hip, grinning down at a heavily breathing Loki.

He glanced up at her from his hunched over and panting form, "I'm glad my _suffering_ brings you such _joy_ , Valentina."

  
She snorted lightly, a small grin adorning her face and rolled her eyes, "Oh, get up, drama queen. We need to get going."

Loki huffed as he stood up to his full 6'4 height and narrowed his emerald green eyes at her, before trailing behind, nausea swelling and falling in his stomach as he walked with her to the checkout.

  
At the checkout he noticed some green pigmented product, 'spearmint chewing gum' it seems.

Loki plucked it from the display and sniffed it cautiously, then closing his eyes and smiling in bliss.

  
The checkout chick looked at him strangely, which caused Valentina to glance back at him then smirk amusedly, pulling it from his fingers and placing it on the counter, "This, too, please,"

  
The checkout chick glanced down at the gum, to Valentina, to a confused Loki then back down to the gum and nodded, scanning it and placing it in the paper bag with the rest of the fruits and veggies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a short chapter :/ I was planning on making it longer, but I've hit a minor writers block due to homework stress lmao
> 
> UM WHAT I DIDNT REALISE I HADNT POSTED THIS CHAPTER RIP READERS HAHAHA :'vΠ


	11. Camelopardalis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snake and sass

_**IN A GOLD STRUCTURE** , the internal walls lined with gear-like layers, and the outside being witness to the star-dusted sky that looked close enough to touch, loud footsteps tapped against the metal floor. _

A man with shoulder-length golden hair, glittering blue eyes, and a deep red cape that billowed behind him sauntered in with a giant grin adorning his features.

The golden-armoured man that stood to the left of the centre turned to him and watched with unblinking eyes as the golden-haired man strode into the structure. 

“Heimdall!” The blond man bellowed, his grin stretching further across his face as his friend came into view.

“Thor,” The golden-eyed man replied in a statement-like fashion, stepping towards the eagerly grinning man slightly.

  
Thor clapped his hand over the shoulder of the dark-skinned male and chortled, “It has been a _while_ , _old_ **_friend_**! I have a favour to ask of you!”

  
Heimdall nodded, “So it seems. You wish to see how your brother is faring in his punishment, I assume?”

Thor’s face dropped slightly, taking on a serious, yet cheerful tone, “Yes, I wish to see if he is doing well,”

  
Heimdall nodded then turned his face down slightly, to the left, and in an instant the two of them were transported before a quiet, outdoor café setting.

  
The sun’s golden rays shone brightly over the setting, small brown birds flitting around and pecking at left over crumbs on the ground, under the empty tables, distancing themselves from the black-haired male who sat at a table with a plate of pastry and a large collection of shopping bags clustered at his feet.

The two large figures gazed upon the male who was eating the almond-coloured pastry elegantly. Their faces both jolted up once they saw the male’s gaze turn up to a silver-haired individual.

  
A soft smile adorned her features as she sat down, placing the two Styrofoam cups on the table and pushed herself in.

  
She opened her mouth and seemed to say something, causing the man before her to flush red and return his embarrassed gaze back to his food, now eating with more vigour than before.

  
They watched as she propped her left elbow on the table and lent her head in her hand, continuing to gaze upon the passionately eating man before her with a soft smile, albeit it had turned into a slight smirk.

  
“He looks well…” Thor spoke quietly to Heimdall, to which Heimdall hummed in agreement.

They continued watching the ravenette as he had picked up his cup and sipped from the contents, smacking his lips slightly as he swallowed the drink.

He then placed the cup down and looked at it strangely, saying something, to which the silver-haired woman reached forward and uncapped it, placing the lid to the side.

The male sneered slightly, making the woman chuckle and reach for her drink as he looked back down at his food.

  
“He seems to have made friends with the lady…Who is she?” Thor smiled slightly, watching the small nuances of the interaction.

  
Heimdall stared at the woman wordlessly, as she picked her drink up and sipped it, resting her chin lazily on her hand as she did so.

  
“I do not know,” Heimdall frowned slightly, and as he said those words, the woman’s striking silver eyes lazily turned from Loki’s form and over to meet Heimdall’s gaze.

The light caught them at the angle they were turned, and looked to be glowing white as her smile broadened momentarily before she turned her gaze back to the man sitting before her, a teasing smile stretching across her face as the man sitting across from her snarled something out.

  
The two figures standing from the table both were momentarily shocked at the gaze she turned towards them.

  
The setting changed as quick as it had before, and the two were now back in the golden structure in which they had originally been situated.

  
Thor’s eyebrows furrowed deeply as he directed his gaze towards his friend’s eyes, “How could that woman have escaped your knowledge?”

The man before him frowned slightly, “Magic. Or some other technique that has not been discovered yet. I did not know of her existence before this moment.”

  
Thor’s face softened, “…She-… Did not seem to have malicious intentions…”

Heimdall hummed, “She did not. Though I shall be watching closely from now on. If this is a possible enemy, it would not be favourable for someone, who can escape my sight, to be capable of using the information, that Loki is in ownership of, against us.”

  
Thor nodded seriously, his eyebrows furrowing again slightly as he turned towards the entrance of the structure, “Thank you Heimdall, I shall return shortly.”

  
The golden eyed man watched him leave wordlessly.

~~~

  
After a long and unexpectedly exhausting day out for Loki, the soothing guitar music and Valentina's smooth driving was a much needed rest from his anxieties of experiencing a land he was not familiar with.

His host stayed silent throughout the car ride, something he was thankful for, and before he knew it, he was being quietly coaxed awake by a smooth voice.

  
It called his name a few times before he cracked his eyes open and straightened his neck from leaning against the window at a painful angle, wincing, before meeting his gaze with the woman before him.

The rays of light shone from through the trees, and the shadows cast were streaked, giving the woman before him a halo-like visage.

For a brief moment, his breath was knocked from him, his eyes simply locked onto the shining silver orbs before him, before he blinked himself out of his stupor.

  
A pleasantly soft smile crossed his host's features before she spoke, "It's time to get out of the car, sleepyhead. You can go lie down inside, with your head on a _far_ more comfortable _pillow_ instead of a _hard_ _glass_ _window_ ,"

  
He noticed just how close her face was to his before he shrank away, causing her to move away and to the boot of the car, leaving the cold air to sweep across his face from the open door.

  
What on Midgardr was that? Why the _Hel_ had he been stupefied by her seemingly breathtaking face?

...

Nope, it 100% was because he was half asleep.

There is _no_ way he could possibly have any attraction to that Midgardian, after all, Midgardians are simply lower life forms.

...

  
It was _definitely_ because he was in the middle of waking, yes.

  
"Hurry up, snoozebag! I need to lock the car!" Loki was knocked from his glass-eyed state by her voice, his upper lip twitching into a sneer as he heard the demeaning term she used to address him.

  
Yes, there was _no_ attraction here _whatsoever_.

  
He closed the door to the car with slightly more force than needed, and stomped (not at all like a child) around the car towards the woman at the front door of the house.

She immediately locked the car when she heard the dramatic door slam, quirked her eyebrow at his scowling face and mumbled, "Well, _someone_ woke up on the wrong side of the window. Remind _me_ not to disturb your beauty sleep ever again."

  
Loki scowled at her mumblings that she likely thought he couldn't hear, but she ignored his vicious snarl as she shifted the comically large amount of bags to one hand, unlocking the door with a smile.

  
His head seemed to clear a little bit when he noticed her happiness at arriving home, and the way she took a whiff of her subtly-pine and book-scented house.

Valentina hummed happily as she walked down the corrider and into the loungeroom before changing her look into a one of disapproval at something the green-eyed god couldn't see.

  
She stepped into the room and placed the bags down, stepping over the knocked-over stool before approaching the giant black lump that sat on the middle of the armchair.

  
Loki followed her into the room, his eyebrows rising considerably on his forehead as he saw the chaotic state that the loungeroom was in.

All pissy thoughts were thrown out the window as curiosity overcame them, his eyes watching as his host plopped herself criss-cross in front of the arm chair, her elbows resting on either side of the seat., her head in her hands.

  
"Baphome~t," She cooed, causing the black lump in front of her to shift slightly, but seemingly not enough.

Valentina leaned closer, brushing her lips against the scales of the lump, "Wakey wakey, Baba. I'm home~"

  
The lump now shifted more than previously, a tiny snout peeking between the middle of the coils of the lump, a pink forked tongue darting out.

  
Valentina kissed the snout of the lump, giggling softly as she rested her forehead against him lightly, the silver of her hair contrasting deeply with the pitch black of the scales.

  
Loki silently watched the intimate interaction in slight awe.

  
This... Was definitely new.

  
Now that he thought about it, she _did_ live a very long distance away from others, so it would be natural for Valentina to hold the living things close to her dearly, as separation can have severe consequences if not consoled through some type of companionship.

  
It hit him like a train.

  
Valentina was completely alone up here, and though she seemed to have sought out to be alone in the woods, it seems that even she would suffer greatly from lack of humanoid interaction.

  
For some reason he felt... Bad?

It was a kind of mixture between unexpected empathy and pity.

There is no way the woman before him would completely cut herself off from others if she hadn't had _some_ type of wound afflicting her mental state.

...

  
Gods, now he just feels even _worse_.

  
This woman was so emotionally damaged that her only close companion within plausible reach was a _snake_ , and he had just crashed into her life like a very _unwelcome_ _family_ _member_ and situated himself so comfortably and selfishly into her care.

  
This is a disaster.

  
He needs to fix his childish behaviour and help her, instead of selfishly forcing his every whim onto her like some _godforsaken_ _freeloader_ \- oh wait...

  
He literally is.

  
_Great_.

  
This is _awesome_.

...

  
He should probably start by helping her clean up the loungeroom first.

  
Valentina shifted her forehead from the black lump and sighed, still smiling slightly, gaining the attention of her guest again, " _Oh_ , Baphomet. What am I gonna do with you?"

  
Loki cleared his throat, "I...assume that...Baphomet was the cause of this _chaos_?"

He crossed his arms awkwardly, feeling out of place in such a cute setting.

  
Valentina turned her head and nodded, still smiling, a quiet chuckle escaping her, "Yes. He gets a bit antsy when I'm not around. That's actually also one of the reasons that I couldn't dare to part with him- he literally wrapped himself around me until I went back home. He wouldn't let me release him back into the wild,"

  
Loki gazed at the serpentine lump that was writhing slightly, smirking a bit.

He guessed that, although Valentina seemed to be overly attached to the cold-blooded creature, it wholeheartedly returned the affections.

  
What an odd pair of beings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will attempt not to be shit and actually post chapters sometimes ~~but I dont know what with my constant homework influx haha~~


	12. Cancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner and breakfast nom ~~sies~~

_**THE EVENING PASSED BY QUICKLY** in the eyes of the two recluse individuals._

Both partook in cleaning up after the serpent that had returned back to its tank and promptly fallen asleep.

Afterwards they both had some dinner, Valentina directing her guest in how to assist her in cooking their meal.

  
She had noticed Loki's sudden willingness to help, but dared not to comment in fear of awakening the beast once again.

  
The evening continued on quietly and peacefully; a game of chess -with some _slight_ sneaks from Loki's behalf- after dinner.Valentina had won by the skin of her teeth.

  
They had stayed in the loungeroom in front of the fire, silently reading whilst sipping their drinks, soft music playing in the background.

  
Soon enough it had passed into the AM, and Loki had found himself struggling to keep his eyes open, his eyelids had been drooping and closing every so often.

It was when he had reread a paragraph three times that he realised that he needed to sleep.

  
Not wanting to disturb his host's tranquil atmosphere, he bookmarked his page, gathered up his coffee cup, gone to the kitchen and sorted it into the dishwasher before moving to the hallway and murmuring a quiet "Goodnight," to the woman curled up in the armchair behind him.

  
A hum was the reply that he recieved from the silver-haired individual, all she could manage due to being so entranced in the fiction within her hands.

  
Loki's lips quirked upwards slightly, before he silently made his way upstairs, past the insane amount of books and into his quarters for the night.

  
Unfortunately for he, who was dreading sleep in fear of the terrors that poisoned his dreams, sleep pulled him into its bittersweet clutches the moment his head had hit the pillow.

  
~~~

  
Heart-wrenching cries of anguish suddenly echoed throughout the house, shocking the woman who was asleep in the loungeroom.

The light from the moon that hung high in the night sky filtered in through the wall of windows, bathing the silver-pigmented woman in silver light.

  
Her eyes widened hugely at the screams, and immediately she had thrown herself from the chair near the fireplace, the glowing embers within being the remnants of the previous fire.

The woman's lithe form seemed to almost lose its shape as she silently darted up the stairs and into the room of her guest.

  
What she was met with caused her face to soften and her body to relax.

The man before her was writhing in his bed, seemingly trying to break out of a hold.

Tears streaked down his cheeks, and his forehead glistened with sweat.

  
His neck was streaked with red lines, seemingly from being scratched.

In some spots, blood was welling up to the surface and dripping onto the sheets.

  
Valentina approached the violently writhing man, and leant over his form, her face in line with his.

  
Both of her cold hands came and met the hot skin of the mans face, hand on each cheek.

  
"Loki," Her voice firmly stated, but his form continued writhing in seemingly pain, his screams drowning out her murmurs.

  
Seeing that she would get nowhere if he kept screaming, Valentina's hands came over his screaming mouth, muffling them as such.

  
" _LOKI!_ " Her voice reverberated throughout the room, and his eyes snapped open.

His manners didn't change, though, as he kept screaming and writhing, fear deeply set into his constricted pupils as he desperately tried to push her away, tears streaking down his cheeks.

  
With one push straight to the chest, Valentina was flung across the room, a loud ' _CRUNCH_ ' heard as she made contact with the white wall.

  
Loki sat up quickly, breath heaving deeply as his heartrate decreased and his pupils stopped constricting.

He gulped painfully, tears streaking down his cheeks as he attempted to ground himself in his surroundings.

  
A loud ' _CRACK_ ' caused his eyes to shoot to the form in the corner of the room, a large hole in the wall and a seemingly broken body of a silver-haired woman righting itself situated on the ground.

  
The woman sat up and stood, walking over to Loki slowly, concern showing in her face as his form trembled in both remaining fear and the ghost of pain.

  
She sat down next to his now calmer form and leaned forward, wrapping his boiling self in her cold embrace.

  
Her voice, soft as velvet, whispered out words of comfort and reassurance that ' _he was okay_ ', and that _'she was right there for him_ ', that ' _nothing and no one was there to hurt him.'_

  
His arms laid limply by his sides, such a situation unfamiliar to his body, but his head buried into her cool neck, his sobs quietening as his tears slowed.

  
Soon enough his tears and energy had run out, and he had fallen asleep in her embrace, the terrors seemingly having passed for the time being.

  
His hand had latched onto her wrist as she was about to leave, despite him being fast asleep.

This was an unexpected action from someone who was asleep, but Valentina didn't question it, and simply stayed by his side until the sun began to rise.

  
~~~

  
The next morning a bleary-eyed god came shuffling down the stairs, book in hand, green hues ringed in red.

  
The two didn't mention any of the events that happened last night.

Loki was grateful that Valentina hadn't brought up such a topic, as he didn't know how he could even _begin_ to approach the issue.

  
He had been a sobbing and sweating mess last night, and she had done something that he hadn't needed anyone to do since he was a child; help him go back to sleep.

  
The way she had spoken to him in such a caring tone had almost instantly calmed him, though she seemed to have stayed until he was asleep.

She was acting like a mother.

  
Her embrace had been so soft and cool against his skin that was burning up from the mind-breaking tortures he had re-experienced in his sleep, and her whisperings and hummings had calmed him enough to sleep all the way through the morning.

  
Quickly taking a peek up at her face, the woman was eating her pancakes, her eyes trained him as she chewed slowly.

He quickly glanced away then hissed at himself for doing so.

_He should have just held her gaze!_

Now she knows he is thinking about her.

  
During this inner-self bashing, Valentina watched silently, swallowing her pancake before taking a sip from her orange juice.

Did he not _notice_ how _bad_ his bed hair was?

It was actually quite charming, but that one piece of hair was seriously ticking her off.

How the _hell_ was it sticking at that angle?

  
She brought her hand up and raked her fingers through his hair, not really noticing what she was doing herself.

  
Loki instantly stilled.

  
_What._

  
_The._

  
_**Hel**. _

  
_What the hel what the hel what the hel what the hel what the hel-_  oh she's taken her hand off now.

  
Loki's eyes darted up at her face and he noticed that she wasn't looking at his eyes, but above them.

  
A soft growl escaped the woman before him and before he could do anything she once again raked her hands through his hair, the feeling sending trails of goosebumps in their wake.

Loki stilled once again and then looked up once she actually snarled.

  
She snarled.

  
Like a _dog_.

  
_What the hel_.

  
His eyebrows furrowed before he spoke, "What in _Odin's_ name do you think you are doing?!"

  
The woman before him suddenly sat up straight, as if realising that, _whoops_ , she was playing with his hair for real ~~sies~~.

  
Her eyes shifted between shocked, apologetic, frustrated then embarrassed.

She turned her face back down to her food, and she began to cut off a piece of pancake whilst muttering, "You've, uh, got a pretty bad case of bedhead..."

  
Her face flushed read and she scoffed the pancake down.

  
_Oh?_

  
A cattish grin stretched across his face, and Loki chuckled lowly, "So you can't help yourself but _caress_ your fingers through my locks _first thing in the morning, hm?"_

  
The woman suddenly coughed, but placed her hand over her mouth before anything came projectiling from her throat, her blush deepening _._

  
Hm~?

  
Maybe this woman is actually more akin to _prey_ than he previously had thought?

  
Suddenly, she recovered from her embarrassed stupor with an equally cattish grin, swallowing her food and then darting her tongue over her upper lip, wetting it a tad, "Well maybe _you_ should stop coming down here so early in the morning, looking like you've had more _nightly company_ than expected?"

  
Loki blinked slightly, then laughed, Valentina joining his joviality immediately with her breathy chuckles.

  
Nope, she _definitely_ isn't prey.

  
She can keep up with her predator after all.

  
Wait a second...

  
" _Her_ predator"?


	13. Canes Venatici

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beer and bros

_**THAT DAY** the two perfect-looking beings simply lazed around until the eve._

They both held an immense love for literature, so neither of them were particularly bothered about spending an entire day sitting around in awkward-looking-but-actually-quite-comfortable positions and reading. The weather was lovely for it; the rain pelted down against the tin roof and the fireplace popped and cracked in the background whilst the two got lost in their word-spun worlds. 

  
The pink veil that covered the sky indicated that perhaps they should begin to start moving, and Valentina did just that. 

  
Her arms crossed over the arm of Loki's chair, and she smiled, "Loki, I have a gig today. Come watch me perform,"   
Loki dragged his green orbs from the line of text and gazed upon her glowing face. She was sleepy, but smiling blissfully. 

  
One eyebrow quirked as he watched her stand up and stretch, back cracking multiple times, "You play an instrument?"   
His host hummed, "Yes, and I sing. I play at a bar for money. You're expensive to feed, you know,"  
Loki felt a twinge of guilt for freeloading, but quickly pushed it away. Maybe he could get a job to help pay off his expenses?

  
Pulling on a coat and some brown boots Valentina prepared to leave the house. Loki stood up and followed suit in bookmarking, stretching and shrugging on a coat and some boots.   
His boots dwarfed hers when they were placed next to eachother.

  
Soon enough, they were on the road again, Valentina tapping her fingers to the beat of the acoustic song playing through the car speakers, and tapping her left foot along.   
The car ride to the bar was silent, neither of them feeling the need to speak, yet despite the fact, the time passed quickly, and soon enough they were rolling up to the establishment. 

  
The sky was a pitch black with clouds from the previous storm thinning and floating out of eye reach. A blanket of stars were visible, yet slightly drowned out by the light pollution from the small village-like setting.   
Valentina got out of the car and confidently strode into the establishment, Loki trailing behind. ' _DON'S_ ' was painted on a sign that hung above the door, three golden lights illuminating the deep red letters.   
The warmth flowed over the two figures as soon as the woman opened the door, and the sounds of chatter and glasses clinking seeped from the doorway.  
The two entered the building, and with the first step, cheerful cries of "Valentina!!!" Overwhelmed the two. The silver-haired individual smiled brightly and embraced the man that approached her straight away. He was of similar height to her, with golden blond hair, brown eyes and deep-set laugh lines. Valentina laughed out loud at the sudden attack of hugs.   
Loki made his way over to the bar, and sat down in an empty stool, watching the interaction between Valentina and her aquaintances.  
A woman shorter than her by a tad grinned at her cheekily before sneaking over and smacking her on the behind, causing the silver eyes of the woman to snap wide open and her hands to shoot straight to the location of attack, a sharp, "Oh!" Escaping her lips.  
The woman that had smacked her ass had long straight, black hair and bright blue eyes. Her legs were adorned in ripped black jeans, heavy black combat boots on her feet, and a black silk-like crop top. Her arms were covered in sleeves of inked illustrations of skulls, flowers, women and the like, and her face was riddled with silver piercings. Valentina turned and grinned widely, enveloping the shorter girl in a hug, kissing her on the cheek.   
The girl seemed to blush a tad before patting her on the back a couple of times, returning the warm gesture, laughing along - somewhat embarrassedly. Once they pulled away Valentina grasped her hands and smiled warmly, saying something along the lines of "It's been a while, love," before kissing the forehead of the shorter girl, causing her to flush a million shades of red.   
The large males that stood around the silver-haired woman all chuckled at the embarrassment of the shorter girl, causing her to glare at them. Valentina smiled warmly at the long, blonde-haired male that stood next to the bar and her eyes met those of green.   
Suddenly, her eyes shimmered and she pushed past the blond-haired male, reaching out a hand and grasping Loki's in her own, pulling him with uncharacteristic strength from the stool and into the circle that had formed around her.   
Now that he was closer, Loki noticed that all of the people that flocked to her were covered in tattoos and piercings of some sort. How strange. They seem to be outcasts of some type. Fighters, perhaps?   
Her grip loosened on Loki's hand and Valentina grinned, "Everyone, this is Loki. He's currently staying with me. Please treat him well, he's been nothing but a perfect guest and excellent company,"  
Loki's mind halted. _What?_ "Perfect guest"?? He would say that he has been the complete _opposite_ of such! How the hel had he been "a perfect guest"??? He had been abrasive, unthankful and rude. Not to mention a likely hassle, considering his embarrassingly childish need for comfort last night.   
Nonetheless, the people around him smiled at his tall, lean form, a certain familiarity shining within their eyes. Valentina snorted and elbowed the man that stood to Loki's left, who was almost equally as tall, with dark brown eyes and spiked black hair, "He certainly is much better than you were, Leroy," The group chuckled as 'Leroy' gritted his teeth in embarrassment, blushing.  
He huffed a low, "Whatever," before scratching the back of his head, walking over to the bar, ordering a glass of rust-coloured liquor.  
Clapping her hands and rubbing them together, Valentina dragged the group out of their chuckle-fest, "Welp," she darted her tongue over her lips, "I'm not getting paid to catch up with you lot. I'd better get my ass up on the stage before it's chewed out by Don,"   
The group seemed to brighten, an excited air overcoming their quietly amused atmosphere. 

Valentina smiled at Loki, notably not touching him, seemingly realising that he most likely didn't want to be touched, and that her familiar grabbing of him previously likely didn't hold as positive in her guest's mind. "I'm going to perform in a bit. I'll be preparing for a while, so you get yourself acquainted with this lot. They're a friendly and understanding bunch, contrary to their looks, and they'll make sure you're having a good time, so try not to bite off their heads, eh?" Valentina grinned and jogged off towards the stage, greeting a potbellied man, and walking out of eyeshot. Her presence seemed to draw the attention of everyone in the bar, and they all seemed to smile when she came into view. 

What an anomaly this woman was.  
A large hand jolted Loki from his thoughts, practically making him jump in the air in shock as he felt it latch onto his shoulder.   
His green eyes glanced up at the man that had clapped him on the shoulder, and instantly he was reminded of Thor. That smile was much like Thor's, and the way his large form had familiarly clapped him on the shoulder only hastened that thought.  
The deep voice of the man rang out in mirth, "Loki, eh? Strange name. Though, I can't really talk, I guess. I'm Bjork, that's Savannah, that's Theodore, and that, as mentioned before, is Leroy," The man spoke as he pointed out himself, the girl with the black hair, the lean, red-haired male that sat on a bar stool and the man that had retreated to the bar, behind Loki, that was now on his third glass of liquor.  
Loki hummed, glancing at them all before managing a somewhat amiable smile, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance,"   
The blond grinned even wider, and chortled, "No need for formalities! Come, have a drink!" And with that Loki was dragged to the bar, at which a glass of rust-coloured liquor was shoved into his hands.  
Instantly, he took a gulp, desperately needing some relief after such a taxing experience of being discarded and de-Seidr-ed. The man next to him chortled, "Been needing one that badly, eh? Say, what brings you to Valentina's home? It's been a while since she's taken someone in!"  
Loki glanced up at him warily, unsure if he should tell the man of his situation, after all, he is likely a wanted criminal worldwide for terrorism against Midgardr.  
The man seemed to sense his wariness, and leaned back, sighing, "I mean, we've all been a guest at one point in our lives. Me? I was brought up in an underground fighting ring. Parents killed, sold into slavery. Near best fighter in the entire business, until Val brought it down and rescued all the kidnapped kids. I didn't have any parents to go back to, so she helped me get back into the world," Bjork's grin softened into a smile, Loki's eyes widening. This man was seriously scarred! Not to mention Valentina had saved the man by bringing down an entire underground fighting ring!  
Bjork continued, "Savannah was born out of wedlock. Abandoned on the streets. Forced into prostitution. Val helped her get back on her feet and shut down the business that was forcing homeless kids into working for them," The girl with black hair lifted her giant mug of beer, and smiled tinily at him, nodding before taking a huge swig.   
"Theodore was a victim of some secret agency that experimented on him. Val stopped him from being turned into a mind-controlled soldier," The red-haired man glanced away and scratched the back of his neck, furrowing his brow as he looked down at his non-alcoholic drink.   
Loki's eyes widened. This woman was far more than she let on. Far, far more. There is no way she was a regular Midgardian civilian.  
Bjork finished, "And Leroy?... Well, let's just say he had some... Animalistic urges that proved to be problematic for the community and himself... He proved to be quite interesting to host, according to Val," The group all giggled, save for Loki, who didn't fully understand the context, and Leroy, who was fully embarrassed, blushing like a tomato.  
He leaned forward and placed his head into his hands, revealing his pink ears and neck, "Ughh, shut up about that already! I couldn't help it!"  
Savannah piped up, chortling, "I'm sure you couldn't! Val is pretty hard to resist, after all!"   
Loki's face went slack. Wait... He made advances on Valentina? Had she reciprocated? Why couldn't he help it? These questions swirled around his head for a moment, making him groan internally, taking a swig from his drink. He needs to stop thinking about it. Why the hel should he care if Valentina had coerced with some Midgardian?  
Bjork spoke up again, "So, what happened to you? Speaking from experience, there's no way you'd be staying with Val if your situation was in your favor,"  
Loki pondered for a moment, glancing over the faces of these people that had gone through such torment. They were strong, and seemed to hold Valentina in a favourable light, so they wouldn't go behind her back, would they?  
Just a bit of information should be fine.  
Loki sighed, then took another swig before placing his glass down, watching the bubbles fizz to the top of the liquid and pop for a moment, before opening his mouth, "I was... Thrown from my home. I wasn't seen as an adequate son. The person who caught me was worse than my family. They manipulated me into being their slave; doing their dirty work. I... Killed...and thought it mercy. I was caught in the act, and brought back to my parents, whose punishment was to abandon me completely. They abdandoned me in the middle of nowhere with no knowledge of where I was, and no means of transportation or shelter. Valentina found me half frozen to death in her woods, and brought me in. I was heavily wounded, and she treated me. She has shown me kindness that no one other than... The mother of the family I lived with has. I am forever grateful to Valentina's kindness. She has helped me in a way I didn't believe I could be helped,"  
There was a brief moment of silence before Savannah spoke, "Well, damn, I'll drink to that," which caused Loki to look up and glance around at the group of friends, who all raised their glasses, before taking a swig of their drinks.   
A sudden warmth spread through his heart, and a strange sense of belonging seeped into his mind. It was something overwhelming that he had never felt in all of his odd thousand years, and it fought to bring tears to his eyes. Staring down at his amber-coloured liquid, a small smile quirked on his lips. What a strange place he had gotten to.   
Just as Bjork was about to speak the sound of keys on a piano reverberated throughout the room, causing the people situated at the bar to twist around to face the stage.  
On the stage a silver-haired, silver-eyed woman sat, with a long black dress made of transparent materials sat at a piano, long elegant fingers poised over the keys.   
Her eyes scanned the back of the room and locked with Loki's, before she smiled, speaking into the microphone with her soft-like-velvet voice, "Hello everyone, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Valentina, and tonight I'll be performing from now until 10. This first song is called 'Sellers Of Flowers'. Enjoy~," She winked, before her fingers positioned themselves over the black and white keys, her lips wet from her tongue.   
And so, the first chord was struck, and her voice rang out the first line of lyrics, entrancing the entire bar in quiet beauty of her song.

 

(Phew, 2350 words. There's a bit more explanation in here than I'd planned, whoops, haha. Loki finally feels somewhat belonging :') What're your thoughts on the chapter? :) Bex)


	14. Canis Major

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol and creepiness

_**THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT** Loki had downed innumerable drinks, being egged on by his now acquaintances, who had been as red-faced as he was. _

The glasses that piled up on the bar surface were empty of the multi-coloured liquids he had ingested.

The bar had emptied quickly after Valentina had finished her performances for the night, and soon enough it was just he and Bjork sitting by the bar, both snickering about some ridiculous joke that Loki could barely remember.

Savannah had left soon after the performance, claiming that she 'had work in the morning' and that she 'couldn't afford to miss out on her beauty sleep'.

Theodore had silently slipped out at about 9, and no one seemed to realise, save for Loki and perhaps Valentina, as her lips had quirked up slightly once the door had closed behind him.

Leroy had found himself in a drunken stupor, and called himself a Taxi before he could drink himself to death.

  
Loki and Bjork had now been sitting at the counter for about 20 minutes after Valentina's performance, waiting for her to come out of the changerooms.

The two got along swimmingly once Loki had loosened up over about 10 drinks.

The bartender looked exhausted, bags under his eyes at the two who laughed boisterously. A silken voice drew the attention of the three, and behind Loki stood a large-coated silver-haired woman, a soft smile drawn across her lips at the flushed face of her guest.

  
"VALENTINA!" Loki yelled, a large grin adorning his face, his movements sloppy as he turned and whacked his hip against the counter, not really realising it himself, "Youuuu were wONderful!" he stood clumsily, falling forward a bit, "Hhhhhow do you sINg like that-t *hic*?"

A dopey smirk crossed his face and he placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning his weight on her form.

  
A laugh escaped her, the bar tander snorting, before cleaning up the green-eyed god's glasses, Bjork chuckling beside him.

"Thank you, love. You're absolutely smashed." She turned her head to face the bartender as she fastened her grip on the swaying man before her, "John, how many drinks has he had?"

  
The bartender rubbed his forehead, hissing a bit, "Sorry, Val, I came halfway through. I dunno. He had about 12 from 8:30," John narrowed his eyes at the hammered god, "He's a bloody monster, he is. Where do you find 'em Tina? It seems you're a magnet for people with crazy metabolism!"

Valentina laughed, "Can't say I know, John. As you said, I must be a magnet of some sort, eh?"

  
Bjork joined in, laughing, "Aye. He sure is somethin' else though. Not _human_ , for sure. Seems familiar. You know where he's from?"

  
Valentina shook her head then smirked, "Don't push the envelope too far, Bjork. You know I don't deal in otherworldly affairs,"

Bjork put his hands up, then smiled, eyebrows raised, "Hey, I know when I'm not welcome. Beautiful performance, by the way. Perfect, as always,"

  
Valentina chuckled lowly, then winked, "Only the best for you, Bjorkie~"

  
A whine escaped the throat of the woozy god that was leaning on her form, and Valentina furrowed her brows, pushing his face to be in line with hers, "What is it, Loki?"

Loki frowned, "I don't...*hic*... Want to be here..."

Valentina's eyes softened, and she wrapped her arm around his waist, securing him to her form to prepare to make leave of the premises, "I know, sweetheart. Let's go home,"

  
The two men at the bar chuckled quietly at the childish behaviour of the raven-haired, hugely proportioned man that leaned on the silver woman's small frame, and nodded their goodbyes as Valentina smiled. "Thank you for looking out for him. I'll see you both later, hm?"

They two men smiled as she left the premises, large dopey man basically being dragged out after her.

  
The two men sat in silence for a moment.

  
"She forgot to pay the bill again, didn't she." Bjork hummed after a pregnant moment of comfortable silence.

  
The bartender sighed.

  
\---

  
Outside, a fumbling green-eyed god attempted to make his way to a car, a pink hue flushed across his alabaster cheeks.

The silver eyed woman underneath his weight smiled as she attempted to assist him into the vehicle, his monologue causing mirth to swim within her silver pools.

  
"I-I reeeally loved your performanc-e VALentina-a. *hic* It wass amazinggg, and you-rr voice is sooOo prettyyyy-*hic*yyy," A laugh bubbled from her chest as he slurred these words together, "Thank you Loki, I'm glad you enjoyed it,"

  
Loki drunkenly smiled smugly, "M*hic*-hm, and yourr dress was simply _allurrringg_." He purred lowly, a hiccup interrupting his flirtatious remark.

A muffled snort escaped his host's form, before she laughed out loud, tears springing to her eyes slightly as he grinned along with her, "W-well, Loki, I have _many_ more like it. Just ask and I'll dress as proposed!~"

Her flirtatious reply elicited a satisfied purr from the man beside her, a satisfied grin adorning his features.

  
"I willll remember this for _future reference_ , Va-lentina~" Loki purred out huskily, his breath fogging up as he huffed it out, the scent of alcohol attacking Val's senses as she popped open the passenger door.

  
Shaking her head, chuckling, Valentina smiled, "Okay, you _sneak_ , feel free to do so. Can you hop in for me?" Loki blinked for a moment, before pulling himself into the car, falling all over the place.

  
Guiding his torso with her hands, Valentina assisted him into his seat, chuckles shaking her form as Loki clumsily attempted to control his long limbs to no avail. She managed to clip him into his seat with the seatbelt, and closed the door, him watching her every move as she walked around the car, to the driver's side.

  
As soon as she opened the driver's door, Loki spoke again, "You're really beautiful, Valentina," he leaned towards her, "Did you s-sleep with that werewolf?" Valentina's face shot up to his, flushing slightly, eyes widening a tad.

Coughing to gain composure, Valentina smiled, laughing softly, pulling a pillow from the back seat and placing it behind his head, " _Curious_ , are you?" She seated herself in the driver's seat, closing the door and turning the key to the ignition.

  
Loki leaned back against the pillow and watched her face, as she continued her movements, with bleary eyes.

  
Pulling out of the drive, Valentina continued, "I guess I shouldn't be _surprised_ that you could so easily sense his lineage..." Loki hummed for her to go on, and she obliged, "But no, I did not sleep with him,"

Valentina's eyes connected with Loki's for a second, catching the light, "Leroy was a heavily wounded boy when I had found him, and I would not take advantage of him in such a state."

Turning her attention to the road, a silent melancholy crossed her features. A moment passed before she spoke again, a complicated expression dawning her pearlescent visage, "I have seen people beg, rob, and steal. It seems that in their lowest states, people find different ways to relieve their pains. I cannot bear to take advantage of anyone who is in such a state, because if I do so, then I am no better than the ones who live so carelessly, whipping up a destructive storm in their wake,"

Valentina's eyes hardened for a moment, "Struggles are not comparable; everyone has their own levels of tolerance, and they may change from time to time and from person to person. Just as a state of weakness may differ from person to person, the reaction to such must change in order to prevent further damage,"

  
Loki stared at her, wide-eyed.

The silver orbs turned to him and then darted back to the road.

Clearing her throat, Valentina continued, "But, _no_. I did not sleep with Leroy. He was _vulnerable_ , _wounded_ , backed into a _corner_ by the ones he had been closest to. He was deemed ' _dangerous_ ' by the ones he had loved, and because of that, he became what he was desperately attempting to prove himself _not_ to be,"

Valentina shook her head, "Regardless, though, he was... _Overcome_ by his lust and most _animalistic_ urges,"

Valentina's lips quirked upwards. Loki's eyes never leaving her face as she spoke so deeply on such a casual level, "He was... _Adorable_ , really. _No_ tact, _whatsoever_. Panting like a dog in _heat_ , " The silver-eyed woman snorted, "Literally." Loki chuckled along with her.

  
Valentina smiled as she darted her eyes from the road to Loki, gaze softening, "There was this one time when he had become overcome with pheremones, and, naturally, his body's first reaction was to approach the closest female in his vicinity. That, of course, was me. He had simply _walked_ into the kitchen and attempted to corner me, blindly doing what his _body_ was telling him to do. I was standing at the stove, and he had cornered me as such. He had placed both of his hands on _active_ stovetop pans, and had recieved third degree burns on both on his palms,"

Valentina snickered along with Loki, "Needless to say, his wolfish side had automatically shied away from cornering me  again. It had learned the consequences of doing so, and had practically kept away from me with a ten-foot pole," Loki chuckled, and Valentina smirked, "Though it _quickly_ warmed up again once spring time came around the next year."

  
Shaking her head, Valentina laughed at her memories, and continued to list off her fond recollections of strange encounters with her previous guest, Loki's eyes never leaving her face as she continued laughing and smirking at her emotive recollections.

Slowly, but surely, Loki drifted off to sleep.

  
~~

  
After about half an hour, Loki had fallen asleep, causing Valentina to smile fondly.

She had to admit, Loki was adorable. His sleepy laughs were also very attractive, and he was eye candy to say the least.

Once she had reached her house, Valentina had attempted to awaken Loki from his drunken sleep by nudging his shoulder and calling his name.

  
No response.  
He was out like a light.

  
Valentina sighed, and smiled softly at her guest.

What a troublesome young god she had taken under her wing.

  
After unclicking his seatbelt, Valentina hoisted Loki up into her arms, his huge form comical against her petite one, considering the roles of the 'princess carry' had been swapped.

Valentina pondered for a moment as she adjusted her grip on him.

  
Well, she guessed that it actually was appropriate, considering he was a prince.

Hm~ so she's his knight in shining armor, hm?~

  
Loki mumbled in his sleep and tucked his nose into the crook of her neck, causing her to stiffen slightly at the goodebumps that it sent down her spine.

Ignoring the feeling, Valentina opened her front door and made her way inside, closing it behind her and making her way down the hall and up the stairs, to her guest's room.

Valentina laid Loki's lean frame onto his bed and leaned away to pull his boots off, getting cut off by a strong hand around her wrist.

Quirking an eyebrow, Valentina looked up at the face of the man, shockingly, his green eyes open and staring at her.

His breathing hadn't changed at all, so he was still asleep. 

But he was staring at her.

His hand soon grew slack and his eyes slid shut, and he returned back to his sleeping state.

  
Well that was creepy.

Whatever.

  
Valentina continued her undressing of her guest until he was at an appropriate amount of undress for bed, before making her way out of the room, clicking the door silently shut behind her.

She hummed happily as she made her way downstairs.

Drunk Loki was cute~

She was definitely going to use this as teasing material tomorrow morning~


	15. Canis Minor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hangover and iceskates

_**IN A SILVER** metallic walled room, a female stood, posture attentive and hair meticulously perfect. _

Eyebrows furrowed together, her eyes flicked over the text that passed over the screen she was furiously tapping. The door behind her flew open silently, and in entered a long-coated figure, voice following shortly after, "Hill, what did you wish to speak to me so urgently on?" 

The woman's frame stiffened before subsequently twisting around to face the darkly clad male. "Director, there has been a sudden register of an unknown energy source, in Northern Britannia. The energy source is located on undisclosed land, of which has been registered under a private owner since 1752,"

The dark-skinned male's eyebrows furrowed, a deeper frown etching into his features, "And why is it so significant?" The woman cleared her throat before turning back to the touchscreen, pulling up a hologram in front of the two, the display of lines erratically overlapping and flowing against eachother. "It's... Like nothing we have ever seen before. It seems to be erratic and unpredictable, almost... well, the closest thing to it we have seen would be the Tesseract," 

The man sighed and rubbed his forehead, an internal groan of 'I'm too damn tired for this,' flashing across his consciousness before he spoke, "Deploy unit 402 and 61. They are to bring back whatever they find," 

Hill nodded, then typed something into the device and sent off the message. 

Fury turned away, walking out the door, leaving Maria Hill once again in the silent metallic room.

Maria looked back at the wavelength, furrowing her brows and clenching her jaw. 

It almost seemed... Alive. But that's impossible. An organism couldn't contain such raw power, could it?

_ ~~~~ _

Golden rays shone through the windows of the small guest bedroom, casting a warm glow on the passed-out figure that laid in the bed, hair wild as a rat's nest. The figure stirred and groaned, eyebrows furrowing. 

Cracking an eye open, the figure instantly regretted doing so, slamming his eyelids shut once again. Loki turned over, cringing at the queasy feeling that churned in his stomach, and looked at the bedside table, softly cracking his eyes open at the shadier side of the room. On the bedside table was a tall glass of water, two small red capsules, and a fluorescent green square piece of paper. 

Staring at the items for a moment, Loki attempted to recall last night's events, cringing at the fact that he had not realised that Midgardian liquors would have a more... Enhanced effect on his de-Seidr'ed body. An effect that he greatly regretted. 

Mind somewhat functional, the green-eyed man sat up slowly, with much strain. With the movement nausea swelled in his stomach, sending his head spinning with the change in gravitational pull. Leaning over the bedside table, he examined the fluorescent green note, on which perfectly printed cursive was scrawled in black ink.

' _Good morning Mr.Suave~,_

_ I have prepared for you some pain medication and water.  _

_ Once you've taken them, come downstairs and have breakfast. _

_ Last night was fun, no?~ _

_ ;) _

_\- V'_

Alabaster skin tinged pink as he read over the text, Loki groaned under his breath in embarrassment, remembering the events that had transpired the evening before.

He wanted to dig himself a grave and lie in it. Loki had not been suave at all in his drunken stupor. Gods! He had shamelessly flirted with his host, employing no tact at all! "Your dress was simply alluring!"?! Surely, even in such a state as that, he could have conjured a line wittier than that!

Running a hand down his face, Loki sighed, before leaving the note where it was and picked up the two red capsules.

He moved them to eye level, examining what they were, before shaking his head and plopping one in his mouth and gulping it down with some water. The second tablet quickly followed suit, and before he knew it, he was out of water. 

Placing his glass down and exhaling in an attempt to quell his embarrassment, Loki stood, slightly-woozily making his way over to the door, shrugging on a dark green satin dressing gown.

 

Winding his way down the stairs, the familiar calm guitar strumming thrummed from the lounge. Valentina's velvety voice hummed alongside it, every so often the sound of crunching interrupting it. 

Loki noticed that the temperature was significantly lower than yesterday’s as he made his way downstairs, and the windows that covered the right wall of the corridor revealed thick layers of pure-white snow. Loki glanced down at his hands, rubbing them together to keep them warm before entering the lounge. 

 

A chuckle resounded from the couches, and a familiar pearl-skinned face turned and gazed up at him, “Good morning Romeo~... Did you sleep well?”

The flirtatious tone that Valentina emmitted caused Loki's throat to close up slightly and go dry. Fortunately he was not having an allergic reaction, but only blushing in embarrassment at her connotations. 

 

Loki silently cleared his throat and sighed, “To be fair, your performance was quite breathtaking. The entire crowd was enraptured by your voice...and yes, I did sleep well,”

 

He then turned to the kitchen and started making himself some toast, which Valentina had been munching on when he was coming down the stairs. The silver-haired woman chuckled breathily, unceasingly erotic in her wording, “Well~ I'm glad you were entertained, my prince~”

 

'BANG’ 

The frozen loaf of bread fell the the kitchen floor, and a string of flustered Asgardian swearing slipped from the raven-haired man as he bent over the pick it up, his face a brilliant shade of pink. A snicker escaped the woman curled up on the couch.

 

Loki's hungover and tired morning brain was overwhelmed by the situation and was evidently short-circuiting. His flushed face cooled down a tad, and he finished making his breakfast, serving it on a plate with Nutella and made his way to the couches. 

 

Plopping himself down, he noticed Valentina's eyes closed, knees up to her chest and in her hands a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Her flawless complexion made her seem unreal; something out of fantasy. Loki's mind flashed in the questioning of reality for a moment before he shook it off.

Obviously she was real! She was right before him!

 

Shaking his head, the green-eyed god chomped into his toast, sighing silently in appreciation of the sweet food, sipping his OJ every so often.

After a few moments of silence, Valentina spoke up, “Loki…”

 

Loki looked up from his toast, “Hm?” He mumbled through his toast.

Valentina's eyes opened, revealing her silver irises, “Let's go iceskating today. The lake nearby froze over last night, and the wind is nonexistent today. It's perfect weather,”

 

Loki contemplated for a moment, then glanced down to his toast and back up again, before nodding, swallowing and asking, “How long do I have to get ready?”

 

Valentina shrugged leisurely, “An hour or so. We should make use of the sunlight whilst it's here,” 

Loki hummed in acknowledgement and finished his toast, gathering the dishes -including Valentina's now empty mug- and decantering them in the kitchen.

 

A warm smile crossed Valentina's face as Loki cleaned up without her edging him on, pleased that Loki was accustoming himself to daily life with her. Loki then made his way back down the hall and to his bathroom.

After hearing the water turn on, the silver-haired woman glanced over to a lightly hissing black snake, smiling, “Oh, hush, you. I'll feed you now,”

 

The snake followed her movements as she pulled herself from her chair and walked over to the tank, reaching in and displaying her arm for Baphomet.

The black serpent lithely curled himself around her hand and a silver shimmer seemed to cover his scales, seeping from the pearlescent skin of his owner.

 

She closed her eyes and the snake squeezed her arm slightly tighter. The woman opened her eyes and revealed glowing silver irises, her pupils slightly warped. The snake removed himself from her arm once he seemingly was finished 'eating’ and curled back up into a ball under his log, tiny tongue flitting in and out of the shadows. 

Pupils back to normal, Valentina chuckled and shook her head, amused at the cute nature of her snake, as he goes to sleep after a hearty meal.

 

After removing her arm from the enclosure, Valentina stretched and trotted off to her room upstairs, where she would begin to get ready. 

 

On her way past the bathroom, the faint sound of masculine humming resonated. Biting her lip to muffle the chuckles, cheeks turning a tad pink, Valentina fastened her pace to her bedroom. 

 

~~

 

After about an hour the both of them were ready to head off to the lake, and shrugged on their coats, heading outside.

The change in temperature from outside to inside was a minor shock to their systems, but neither of them were particularly fussed, both rubbing their hands together on the way to the car.

 

Once Valentina was sure that Loki was strapped in safely, she smiled at him and turned the key in the ignition a couple of times, before setting off.

 

The car ride was mainly quiet, save for a few clips of quiet comments about outside. 

The car parked beside a path-looking area. 

 

After the two of them got out of the car, Valentina pulled her iceskates out of the boot before facepalming, murmuring a quiet, “Dammit!” Under her breath.

Loki, who had shoved his hands into his coat pockets quirked his eyebrow, “What?”

 

Valentina bit her lip, chewing on it for a moment in contemplation before sighing, and turning towards a confused Loki. 

Tilting her head up to gaze into his eyes, Valentina softly sighed and stuttered slightly, “I...I forgot to get you iceskates…”

 

Loki's face relaxed into an unimpressed one, before he quipped, “Typically, this wouldn't be a problem for me… But my magic is not currently at my disposal,” a slight sneer worked its way onto his expression, causing his silver-haired compatriot to wince, “Y-yeah…”

 

Bitter silence overcame the two before it was interrupted by Valentina, “I… Erm… Well I suppose you were going to eventually find out about it, but I probably would have preferred a better time to reveal this…”

Her mumblings broke Loki's bitter train of thoughts, and a curious, yet vaguely suspicious glare warped his features, “What on Midgard are you mumbling about?”

 

Silver eyes flitted back up to green ones before her skates were placed on the ground, and hands were revealed from within her coat sleeves, “Look, I need you to keep your cool, okay? I'm not usually okay with doing this to others without their permission, so I am going to ask you for permission,” 

A serious look laced her fine features and Loki was slightly taken aback, “For… what exactly?”

 

Gulping, Valentina sighed, “I need to borrow some of your excess Seidr. It will not hurt you, I will merely be lightening the load of build-up on your form that the restriction spell is causing,”

 

Eyebrows to the forehead, eyes wide, a shocked expression crossed the Asgardian's face, “B...Borrow Seidr? I have never heard of such a method of power?” His tone was laced with disbelief as Valentina winced slightly, “Besides, you are a mortal Midgardian. You cannot harness Seidr,” 

 

Biting her lip she sucked in a breath of cold air, “I...Uh… haven't been telling the whole truth, Loki…”

 

Loki's eyes narrowed, but she cut him off before he was able to get a word in, “I'm not Midgardian. At least, I don't believe I am? I have lived more than 500 years, which is more than five times the average lifespan of a human, and I am able to harness magic… Well, I believe it's magic? I don't quite understand it myself, I have read plenty of literature and nothing quite like my abilities have ever been mentioned- the point is,” she cut off her own ramble before she could completely overwhelm herself and Loki with too much information, “I am sorry I haven't revealed it to you, but I didn't wish for you to feel more insecure in this world than you already have been,” 

 

Lowering her head and glancing up at him from beneath her eyelashes, Valentina sported the look of a scolded puppy. 

 

Loki, who was still processing the weight of her words paused in the silence and took in her visage, feeling his heart splutter momentarily at the sight of her wounded expression. 

 

Honestly, she was apologising for being considerate? 

Was this woman real? 

 

Loki turned his back to her for a moment and covered his reddening face. 

Of course she wasn't Midgardian! She wasn't hiding it at all!

She carried him up the stairs, miraculously healed his wounds, and -Odin's beard why hadn't he realised it earlier?- her body had crumpled and snapped when he had thrown her at the wall in a fit of terror, yet her bones seemed to pop back into place again like rubber. He had just been daft, not putting the clues together earlier. Was his obliviousness attributed to his loss of magic? That would be an interesting aspect to look into if it was.

 

Nonetheless, that  _ look _ she had given him, like she was about to burst into tears. Did she wish for his heart to give out??

 

Recomposing himself, and turning back to a squirming silver-haired woman, Loki sighed, “It's…  It's fine. Your actions weren't unwarranted. You may borrow some of my Seidr,” 

 

Glee overcame Valentina's face, and she smiled brightly, “Oh, wonderful! I will not keep anything else from you in the future! After all, friends must trust one another!”

 

A dumbfounded expression crossed his features as Loki's breath caught.

Friends?

Trust?

How… 

A sudden feeling of warmth spread in his chest, and his face heated up once again, “Y-yes… Friends…”

 

Valentina's joyful smile turned into a grin and she rubbed her hands together. 

 

Looking away for a moment, Loki clenched his jaw before mumnling, “You can borrow my Seidr now,” 

  
  


Valentina's eyebrows shot up, and her face flushed a faint tinge of pink, “Right! Right, yes, of course…” Before holding her hands up to him, “Please give me your hands,”

 

Quirking an eyebrow, Loki did as he was told, a tingling sensation brushing his fingertips as he placed his hands in hers. Her silver eyes closed, and she smiled, “I need to touch you to get connected to your Seidr,”

 

Loki hummed in acknowledgement, before drawing in a breath. A sudden sensation of being rinsed encompassed his body. It was very, very strange, like water being doused over his body, only more… Soft? 

 

Valentina opened her eyes, now glowing silver. Loki was taken aback at her skin starting to glow as well.

 

She smiled at him and pulled her hands back, before clicking her fingers, a pair of large iceskates appearing in the air, in front of the ravenette's face.

 

Loki caught them before they could fall to the ground, and his eyebrows raised in surprise at her powers, “That… is impressive!”

 

Valentina smiled, “Thank you!” Before taking Loki's free hand in hers, shocking him, “Now, let's go iceskating!”

 

Gulping down the blush, Loki nodded his head and smirked, “Yes, let's,” before striding alongside her into the white-covered forest path, hand in hand. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, uh, hey there.
> 
> It has been like... Just under a year, ay.
> 
> Nice to be back! 
> 
> I've finished my final year, boyz, I'm back and kickin'  
> I'm back from the dead  
> I'm no longer drowning haha
> 
> Well yep
> 
> Apologies for such a fricken long hiatus lmao
> 
> Final year of high school absolutely ravaged me honestly   
> I have never felt more free than now tbh
> 
> So yeah here's a chapter
> 
> Fun fact: I had half-written this chapter (aka the interesting shield scene was written ages ago but I hadn't finished the chapter yet) and finished it tonight so the good bit has been sitting here forever lmao just wanting to be continued haha
> 
> So yes
> 
> I have to say, its a lil surreal coming back to loki boyo tbh. Like suddenly turning on the lights after being in pitch black darkness, it might take a lil while for me to adjust back into the characters bc ive been in loser sleepy tired stressed state all year lmao
> 
> So yep
> 
> Tldr: Merry November its a chapter after forever


	16. Capricornus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> skeet skeet

_WHITE FLECKS OF SNOW fell from the sky as the pair of pale individuals strode through the forest of white._

Their feet crunching against the frosted underbrush of the path was the only sound that they could hear, save for the chitters of small sparrows who flittered from tree to tree. 

 

A green, contemplative gaze was cast upon the pair's connected hands, and within his mind Loki thought over the ramifications of his silver-counterpart's words.

 

She had said that she had lived for over five time the length of an average human's lifetime, yet she looked not a day above a 20 year-old Midgardian. 

Her magic was derived from others, as it seemed, and she could achieve healing and object materialisation with ease. 

On top of this, Valentina's entire body glowed with her magic. It was like the silver power had coursed through her muscles and veins, shining through her outer layer of flesh like a flashlight held up to skin. 

In all of his 1462 years, Loki had never seen anything quite like it. If there was anything in books, he would have read most of them, and would have been able to identify what she was. 

But he couldn't. 

She was unfathomable. 

 

A chilling feeling crawled up his spine as he thought of his inability to identify Valentina's species, and therein her weaknesses… But he merely shoved them out of his mind with a vehement, internal, ‘No. Valentina quite obviously doesn't know what she is. Not to mention she seems to be a one-of-a-kind pure-hearted and genuine person,’ and as rare as they were, Loki believed that he must have been smiled upon by some higher forcere and would not forsake the chance he had been given to right his wrongs. 

He would not antagonise the person that had given him refuge in his time of trial. She had gifted him assistance when he was at his weakest, and, although it frightened him to allow someone his trust, Loki saw that the woman walking beside him was being truthful in her own genuinity towards her care for others.

If he was honest, the woman beside him… much resembled Frigga. Loki's internal musings came to a halt as he came to that short conclusion.

He was also unable to continue them, because Valentina had led him to a clearing, where a small frozen lake was situated.

Momentarily breathtaken by the sight of the frost-layered paradise; the trees towering over the lake and between them flecks of red by male sparrows appearing momentarily before disappearing, the light catching the soft flakes of ice that fell from the sky. 

Feeling sudden emptiness from his hand, Loki noticed the silver-haired woman walking over to a ice-covered log. Watching her silently, Loki let himself take a breather before walking towards her and doing as she did, putting on his skates.

The incredibly light breeze puffed across the two's faces as the placed their regular boots aside, and the tips of their noses turned pink.

Unbeknownst to Loki, under his coat a patch of blue started to expand on his chest. Loki rubbed his hands together and balanced on his skates elegantly as if he was born on the ice.

Valentina's warmly smiled at him before stepping onto the ice, pushing herself forward and skating across the lake, seamlessly doing perfect circles and loop-de-loops. Switching to going in reverse, her silver hair fluttered around her face, quiet giggles reveberating over the ice. 

Loki inhaled sharply, before grounding himself into the situation and stepping onto the ice as gracefully as Valentina did. Well, at least he believed he was as graceful as Valentina, but he had never actually iceskated before and it was a new experience for him.

Slightly-clumsily (as clumsy as Loki could possibly ever be), the raven-haired man copied Valentina's actions, enjoying the wind against his face, nipping at his nose as he drifted over the ice. 

Valentina skated a circle around Loki before going in reverse in front of him, facing him. She squinted her eyes and a small smile crossed her face. Biting her lip, she swallowed her chuckles, “It seems you're a bit more affected by the cold than I had initially anticipated, sir Loki!” 

Confused for a moment, Loki quirked an eyebrow, before his eyes widened and he spun around, covering his face with his gloved hands, hissing, “By the Norns! Please ignore this… this transformation… Monsters need not be gazed upon by mortals,”

Behind him Valentina bit her lip silently, feeling bad that she had brought up his obvious insecurity. Making a split decision, the silver-toned woman latched her hand around the wrist of her guest, who reflexively yanked him hand away and in turn yanked the woman towards him.

Now with one hand at his waist, the woman spun Loki midair, to prevent him faceplanting in their topple. 

As the hit the ice, the wind was knocked out of their lungs, leaving them both breathless and centimetres apart from eachothers’ face. 

A stunning deep blue tone worked its way up Loki's neck and to his face, tinging his eyes a beautiful scarlet. Intricate lines detailed his face, and his self-disgust was apparent in the way he subconsciously lifted his hand from his stomach to his face to hide it. 

Valentina's eyelashes fluttered as she panted out, lying directly on top of her companion, “I see no monsters here, merely a man lied to about his own breathtaking beauty,” 

In turn, the blue lightened on his cheeks, and Loki's eyes scanned the face of the woman who was practically  _ kabedoning _ pinning him down to the ice with her body. Tiny flakes of ice rested on her eyelashes, and as she blinked he noticed the depth of the silver in her eyes. Her lips were peachy pink and slightly parted with her panting, the subtle blush across her cheeks accentuating it beautifully. 

Loki was slightly floored from the situation, unable to formulate a coherent sentence in his stumbled stupor. Suddenly the weight on his chest was released and the woman's hand was there in front of him, extended to help him from the ice.

Hesitantly taking the hand, Loki was pulled to his feet by the inhuman strength of his host. As soon as he was upright and on his feet, Valentina swiped the glove from his hand, revealing the deep blue hand underneath. 

Placing her hand in his, a tingle of strange energy ran up Loki's spine as she turned to him and smiled, “Besides, I'm no mortal, anyway,” 

Suddenly, a shimmer of silver magic ran up his arm, filling him with a warm sensation. A blush overcame Valentina's face, and she bit her lip slightly, beofre puling him along the ice, “Well the ice isn't going to skate itself, is it?”

Loki was about to make a comment on that strange question, before his mind was overtaken by glee and a very familiar sensation.

Seidr! He had Seidr in his body! 

A shocked expression overcame his features, causing an eyebrow quirk to elicit from Valentina, “What?”

Loki stammered, “S-Seidr! I have Seidr in my body!” 

The silver-haired woman's face lit up in surprise, “Seriously?” 

Loki rolled his eyes, “Would I joke about this?”

Valentina hummed, “No, I guess you wouldn't, hm,” before clutching his hand tighter. Loki quirked his eyebrow, and Valentina's face lit up, “I believe I may have inadvertently bypassed the spell placed on you! I think I may have just given you some of my own Seidr!”

Loki blinked owlishly, “S-...Sorry… What??!” Valentina shook her head, “Well, it seems like I can do only miniscule amounts at a time, but still, it's  _ some _ Seidr!”

Loki shook his head, astounded, “That… That spell was casted by an entire team of master-magicians in Asgard. It took over 20 individuals to seal my magic, and you've just  _ accidentally _ bypassed it??” 

Lowering her silver-coloured eyes in slight what seemed like embarrassment, Valentina stammered, “Sorry… As I mentioned before, I don't really understand my own powers… Typically I only reveal new aspects of my powers under emotional circumstances,”

 

A puff of snowy breeze blew for a moment, before Loki's mind pieced together her words. 

She was under an emotional scenario… Just then? A faint tinge of pink overcame his features before he shrugged it off. Of course she could feel… Emotional around him.

They were… Friends… Of course!

 

Loki shook his head, then shakily breathed out, “Let's just… Keep skating. We can figure this out later… Besides, as you said, the ice isn't going to skate itself!,”

This elicited a hesrty laugh from his silver compatriot, and Loki once again took off on the ice, now conjoined to his friend by their hands.

Hand-in-hand, the beautiful figures slid over the ice in perfect circles, loop-de-loops and swirls, making a wonderous cacophony of icy designs and skating noise. 

Every so often a loose laugh would escape the two after a joke was made, or when fun was poked.

Eventually, the sun hit the horizon, casting streaming golden-red light on the winter wonderland, a golden sheen covering the pair as they removed their skates and bundled into the car, onto the road once again in the direction of the woodland house.

 

~~~

 

A loud, low rumble of engines filled the small compartment of the aircraft, and wind whistled past the streamline wings, light reflecting off the surface of the craft in an illusionary guise of sky-scape.

In the cockpit two black-clad agents sat, relaxedly sipping their coffees.

The red-haired woman sighed into her coffee, mildly displeased with the time Fury had summoned her on a mission, and the time it had been since she had last set foot on earth-borne territory. 

The man in the other chair rubbed his forehead, willing the migraine away, a product of many hours in-air. Despite his code name, his tolerance for long-houred flights was null. A sigh and mixed groan escaped his system, eliciting a snort from the woman next to him, “Hawkeye sure doesn't like flying, does he?”

A grumbled, “Ugh, shut uppp,” came from the man as a 'beep’ sounded from the navigator, indicating that they were now in preparation for landing.

The both clicked their sealtbelts in, and lidded their coffees, preparing for touch down. 

They both sighed, a wave of “im too damn tired for this” flashing across their minds before they mentally prepared themselves for post-landing.

 

After all, the last time they encountered strange energy sources, they ended up protecting New York from an alien army invasion. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hel o i did one more again  
> A lil short but still   
> I liked it ending here so  
> thats it for now im out


End file.
